Quality improvement and accreditation: Introducing the IHI Model for Improvement to public health departments in Florida

The Florida Department of Health (FDOH) was one of ten public health systems selected as part of a national multi-state learning collaborative funded by Robert Wood Johnson to explore accreditation and to assess quality improvement strategies that would advance the work of public health departments (PHD). The FDOH instituted a collaborative learning experience, along with quality and performance improvement methods, to improve cardiovascular disease (CVD) rates and to test and assess quality improvement methods in PHD settings. Ten PHDs located primarily in northeastern FL agreed to participate. All ten counties have CVD rates that do not meet the Healthy People 2010 targets. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement's “Model for improvement” provided the framework for the learning collaborative: setting an aim, establishing measures, selecting changes, and testing changes using Plan-Do- Study- Act- cycles. The overall aim of the collaborative was to increase physical activity rates using community wide campaigns, an evidence based strategy documented in the CDC Guide to Community Preventive Services. Measures and target goals were established to monitor progress. The ten month pilot experience provided insight into the challenges and potential for enhancing the work of PHDs using this quality improvement framework.