Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #111495

Joan Cioffi, PhD and Christopher Ogolla, MA, MPH. OWCD/CDC, 4770 Buford Hwy NE, MS-K-38, Atlanta, GA 30341, 770-488-8118, jcioffi@cdc.gov

Research indicates that certification and credentialing create public recognition, improve quality and establishes standards. It is a process whose benefits can be both individual and organizational. We examined studies/ reports and abstracts from the Medline/Ovid databases that show the link between certification and credentialing and individual benefits (increased knowledge, skills, job satisfaction, job retention, pay, improved performance) on one hand, and on the other those that link the process with improved organizational performance (i.e., customer satisfaction, improved quality of services, staff turnover rates).

Conclusion: Certification and credentialing benefits tend to be more individual than organization based. The most cited benefit of credentialing and certification is peer recognition. Studies measuring organizational outcome are mostly hospital-based and focus on agency accreditation rather than individual certification and credentialing.

Learning Objectives:

• 1-Describe the differences in terminology between certification, credentialing and accreditation
• 2-Assess research findings linking certification, credentialing and or accreditation to an individual or organizational outcome
• 3-Discuss how certification and credentialing in public health can work together for measurable impact

Keywords: Accreditation, Certification

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation