223091 What Happens After Accreditation? Impact of the NC Local Health Department Accreditation Program

Monday, November 8, 2010 : 3:10 PM - 3:30 PM

Mary Davis, Dr PH, MSPH , North Carolina Institute for Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillins School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC
Margaret M. Cannon, MPH , Nciph, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
David Stone , North Carolina Institute for Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Brittan Williams Wood, MPH , North Carolina Institute for Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC
Edward L. Baker, MD, MPH, MSc , NC Institute for Public Health, UNC School of Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC
Accreditation of public health agencies is designed to promote agency accountability and quality improvement. Fifty of 85 NC public health agencies are accredited through the NC Local Health Department Accreditation program (NCLHDA). In 2010, the North Carolina Institute for Public Health Evaluation Services reviewed NCLHDA program evaluation data and surveyed accredited agencies to examine accreditation program performance and agency performance improvement activities before and after accreditation. Specific measures included: satisfaction with the NCLHDA program, policy and quality improvement activities, partnership improvements with county commissioners, hospitals, community partners, and boards of health, barriers to accreditation preparation, and accreditation benefits. All 50 agencies participated in NCLHDA program evaluation in the year the agency was accredited; 80% of agencies indicated high satisfaction with the program and all agencies reported adopting or updating policies and procedures to prepare for accreditation. Forty-two agencies (84%) responded to the post accreditation survey. Since achieving accreditation 97% of agencies updated policies; 67% conducted quality improvement activities; 53% reported improved relationships with community and government partners; and 63% reported improved relationships with the agency's Board of Health. Examples of policy and quality improvement activities and experiences with partnership improvement will be provided. These findings will be presented in the context of how they can inform the NC accreditation program as well as the Public Health Accreditation Board.

Learning Areas:
Administration, management, leadership
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Public health administration or related administration
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe methods to evaluate activities of local health departments to prepare for accreditation and following accreditation. 2. Describe quality improvement activities local health departments undertake in response to accreditation. 3. Describe partnership improvements local health departments experience as a result of participating in accreditation. 4. Describe local health departments benefits of participating in accreditation.

Keywords: Accreditation, Local Public Health Agencies

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I direct evaluations of local health department accreditation programs
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3313.0: Organizational Strategic Planning, Community Health Improvement Planning and Preparing for Accreditation – Model Processes That Make it all Mesh