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

Abstract #121305

Stacy Baker, Public Health Foundation, 1220 L Street, NW, Suite 350, Washington, DC 20005, (202) 898-5600, sbaker@phf.org

What does it take to improve performance in state and local public health systems? Since the launch of the National Public Health Performance Standards Program (NPHPSP) in 2002, numerous state public health systems, local public health systems, and boards of health have used the national standards to assess their performance. This session will focus on how jurisdictions have used NPHPSP results for performance improvement, including findings from a 2005 evaluation of jurisdictions that report improvement after using the National Public Health Performance Standards Program (NPHPSP) instruments. Speakers from diverse jurisdictions will discuss how they have taken the next step after implementing the NPHPSP assessment to improve performance in terms of better or more efficient services, capacities, or outcomes. Particular emphasis will be given to successes and lessons learned, highlighting specific improvement strategies, the role of leadership, and ways to develop a performance improvement culture and learning community. To provide context and offer additional evidence-based recommendations, the session will present core steps in a performance improvement process, success factors, and relevant concepts drawn from other fields.

The National Public Health Performance Standards Program (NPHPSP) is a collaborative effort to enhance to Nation's public health systems. Seven national public health organizations have partnered to develop national performance standards for state and local public health systems, based on the framework of the ten essential public health services.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participants in this session will be able to

• Describe performance improvement opportunities provided by the use of the NPHPSP.
• Identify success factors and strategies for improving performance that users of the NPHPSP self-assessment instruments report have helped them improve performance in their jurisdictions.
• List steps to include—and pitfalls to avoid—in a performance improvement process, drawing from public health experiences and from evidence and recommendations in other industries.
• Give at least three examples of state and local performance improvement efforts following the NPHPSP assessment.

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