Oral

This session will highlight a variety of improvement activities occurring in state public health. While each has a different focus, all are geared toward improving health in an efficient and effective manner. Participants will hear how positive health outcomes are being achieved through a disease tracking tool being implemented in North Carolina, a quality improvement tool that has been used in the state of Michigan, and finally about a demonstration project led by the CDC that integrates chronic disease categorical programs. The presentations in this session all describe innovative changes and solutions being implemented throughout public health systems in states.*** This presentation will feature the North Carolina Disease Event Tracking and Epidemiologic Collection Tool (NC DETECT), a system that provides statewide early event detection and timely public health surveillance to public health officials and hospital users. The presenter will give examples of how NC DETECT has improved public health practice in North Carolina and describe how the system fits into an overall informatics strategy for the state health agency. The presentation will focus on how NC DETECT has brought about system change in state public health, what challenges it has solved, and what challenges remain.*** The Michigan Department of Community Health in collaboration with the Michigan Public Health Institute and local health department partners have developed a valuable guidebook that state and local health department staff can use to improve public health processes, programs, organizational capacity, and public health system efforts. Modeled after the Deming cycle of Plan Do Study Act, this guidebook outlines concrete steps that users can implement to improve public health practice and outcomes. This presentation will highlight the components of the guidebook and will describe the real-life health department experiences that informed its development. Participants will appreciate learning about a quality improvement tool that was developed specifically for public health.*** The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), Procurement and Grants Office, and Portfolio Management Program selected four states in 2008 to participate in the Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Program Integration Demonstration Project. The ultimate aim of this demonstration project is to increase synergy, reach, and desired health outcomes in selected categorical programs currently funded by NCCDPHP. CDC has involved ASTHO in this process to provide state health officials and state health agency staff with technical assistance, information and resources that support the development of integrated chronic disease prevention policies and programs. CDC staff will present an update on the demonstration projects, including successes and challenges, and discuss their work with ASTHO and the states on this innovative approach to grant management.

Session Objectives: 1. Describe the system changes occurring in states to improve health. 2. Discuss ways the NC DETECT has improved state public health practice in North Carolina and how the system supports an overall informatics strategy at the North Carolina Division of Public Health. 3. List the steps leading to quality improvement as described in the Michigan Quality Improvement Guidebook and will be able to provide specific examples of quality improvement that have resulted from using this tool. 4. Identify effective state chronic disease integration efforts and discuss ways to improve integration across all program areas.

CE Credits: CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing