262787 A Multi-Year Assessment of Quality Improvement in State and Local Health Departments

Wednesday, October 31, 2012 : 1:30 PM - 1:50 PM

Brenda Joly, PhD, MPH , Graduate Program in Public Health, University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME
Maureen Booth, MRP , Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME
George Shaler, MPH , Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME
Prashant Mittal, MSc, MS , Muskie School of Public Service, Univiersity of Southern Maine, Portland, ME
Quality improvement (QI) initiatives recently have gained a fair amount of attention in public health and there is an ongoing need to evaluate these efforts and understand their impact. The QI Maturity Tool is a validated instrument that can be used to assess QI on a standardized basis within and across health departments. The tool was designed to assess four domains of quality including: 1) organizational culture, 2) capacity and competency, 3) practice and 4) alignment and spread. This session will focus on efforts across 16 states to measure an agency's QI Maturity. Findings will be based on a matched set of state (n=15) and local (n= 404) health departments that completed the tool in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Results comparing 2009-2011 data suggest a significant increase in the percent of agencies who reported implementing QI, building skills in QI, using QI tools and approaches, and aligning the policies and plans of their agency to promote QI. Differences based on agency characteristics also were revealed and will be discussed. Finally, the presentation will highlight several important implications for the ongoing work of public health leaders, practitioners, researchers, and funders.

Learning Areas:
Administration, management, leadership
Public health administration or related administration

Learning Objectives:
Describe the history and goals of the quality improvement (QI) Maturity Tool. Discuss the evolution of QI within a health department, including contributing factors. Identify opportunities for enhancing quality improvement efforts in state and/or local or state health departments.

Keywords: Quality Improvement, Health Departments

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I participated in the national evaluation
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.