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Spreading the Reach of Public Health Improvement Efforts: Findings from the National Public Health Improvement Initiative
Methods: Data were collected via semi-annual progress reports and annual assessments; the response rate was 100% for data collected through the mid-point of Year Four. Data analysis and synthesis included simple descriptive statistics, longitudinal analysis, and sub-analyses of data by awardee characteristics.
Principal Findings: As of the mid-point of Year Four, 51% of awardees used NPHII funds to support accreditation readiness, performance management, and QI activities by other health organizations in their jurisdiction. 167 organizations received a total of $3.7 million in mini-grants (average was $111,136) to support activities such as regionalization of public health districts, improved effectiveness through increased surveillance capacity, and increased access to preventative care; nearly 800 organizations received other types of support including trainings on quality improvement and leadership development.
Conclusion: NPHII aimed to systematically increase performance improvement of public health agencies to ensure the public health goals are efficiently and effectively met. The program provided the flexibility and opportunity for awardees to collaborate with and learn from other public and private organizations in their public health system. Many awardees expanded the reach of NPHII-funding by using the funds to support local and tribal health agencies within their jurisdictions. In some states, state-local relationships and collaborations were strengthened due to NPHII-funded efforts. These collaborative efforts helped to systematically improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of the public health infrastructure.
Learning Areas:
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practicePublic health administration or related administration
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health
Learning Objectives:
Explain data and findings from the National Public Health Improvement Initiative that illustrate how grantees used the funding as an opportunity to spread the reach of the funding and the impact of the improvement efforts.
Discuss the benefit and need for continued systematic support to public health agencies to advance performance and quality improvement efforts.
Keyword(s): Evaluation, Partnerships
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have over 10 years of experience conducting state and federal public health program evaluations. I have been the lead evaluator for multiple cooperative agreements conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For over five years, my primary focus has been on public health infrastructure and operations, especially among state, local, territorial and tribal health departments, and I have evaluated infrastructure from the program to department level.
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.