Application of Quality Improvement Science to the Consensus Definition of Quality

The consensus definition of public health quality and its framework of nine aims provide an important direction for advancing population health metrics. Our presentation integrates this definition of quality in public health (Honoré et al, 201) with an operational definition of quality improvement (QI) in public health (Riley et al, 2010) to illustrate how QI science can be used to improve the degree to which public health policies, programs, services, and research increase desired health outcomes. We systematically reviewed the results of over 35 QI projects in local public health departments throughout the country. These QI initiatives were supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) with the intent of building QI capacity and an evidence base for QI in public health departments. A framework for analysis of the QI projects was built using the CDC Community Guide and the Institute for Health Improvement process map.

Quality Improvement projects implemented by local health departments have successfully increased the performance of public health processes across the nine priority areas. The nine aims identified by the consensus definition for quality in public health provide a useful framework for the identification of areas in which QI can be applied at the service delivery level. The consensus definition of public health quality is an overarching framework to advance efforts at the federal, state, and local level. Quality Improvement methods and techniques are an important and timely way to achieve quality as articulated by this framework in public health practice.