263629 Supporting health department accreditation through PHTC partnerships: Focus on QI training

Monday, October 29, 2012

Vicki Tallchief, EdD , College of Public Health, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Keith Reed, RN, MPH , Director, Comanche County Health Department, Comanche County Health Department, Lawton, OK
Amanda Janitz, RN, MPH , Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Preston White , Oklahoma Public Health Training Center, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Daniel Boatright, PhD , Office of the Dean, College of Public Health; University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Introduction: Quality improvement training was provided to 53 county health department employees in a four-county, rural region of Oklahoma. The health department conducted the training to enhance preparation for accreditation by the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). The health department had performed a self-assessment and identified significant deficiencies in quality improvement processes critical to achieving accreditation. The Oklahoma Public Health Training Center (OPHTC) partnered with and provided funding support for this project. Two goals of the training included 1) learn the principles of effective quality improvement and 2) learn to apply quality improvement to the public health system to improve efficiency and quality outcomes.

Methods: A QI expert conducted classes over two days. Fifty-three employees attended day 1 which covered the principles and theories of QI. The second day was intended to translate theory into practice, and included key staff members. The participants initiated a total of 8 QI projects during this training. Participants completed an evaluation form. A post-retrospective form required trainees to rank how knowledgeable and confident each was prior to and after the training for both goals on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being no knowledge and 5 being strong knowledge. A signed-rank test was used to compare prior and current knowledge and confidence for the two goals.

Results: Forty-seven out of 53 (89%) trainees completed evaluation forms. Regarding both goals, knowledge and confidence significantly improved after the training (p<0.0001 for all groups). Knowledge and confidence in both goals increased by 2 levels. To reinforce the training concepts, the training will be repeated within the next few months.

Conclusion: Overall, this training was well-received and was effective in increasing both knowledge and confidence of trainees related to quality improvement. Future directions will focus on working to maintain high standards in this public health agency.

Learning Areas:
Administration, management, leadership
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Public health administration or related administration
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
The learner will be able to: Define quality improvement training in a local, rural health department setting. Describe quality improvement training in a local, rural health department setting. Describe the components of an academic/practice partnership

Keywords: Quality Improvement, Partnerships

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Co-PI and Co-Director of the HRSA-funded Oklahoma Public Health Training Center (OPHTC) at the College Of Public Health, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. The main focus of the OPHTC is to provide education and training to the current and future public health workforce. I have been a professor at OUHSC for over 30 years, and have been an investigator on several federally-funded projects.
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: 3136.0: Roundtable Session I - Workforce Issues