National Accreditation Program Support

Strengthening the Nation’s Public Health System Through a National Voluntary Accreditation Program for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Health Departments

CSTLTS has awarded a five-year cooperative agreement, CDC-OT18-1801: Strengthening the Nation’s Public Health System Through a National Voluntary Accreditation ProgramExternal, to the Public Health Accreditation BoardExternal.

The purpose of this project is to support the operations and continuous improvement of a national voluntary accreditation program for state, tribal, local, and territorial health departments. The goal of the accreditation program is to improve and protect the health of the public by advancing quality and performance of health departments. The national accreditation program was launched in September 2011.

Background

National standards and accreditation programs have played important roles in ensuring accountability and advancing improvement for other community services and organizations, such as schools, daycare centers, hospitals, and police departments. Until recently, there had not been a national accreditation program or standards for public health departments.

This project builds on work conducted through previous CDC cooperative agreements and co-funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Through these efforts, necessary elements of the accreditation program—such as nationally established standards and measures, an assessment process, information technology, and staffing— were put into place. The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB), which was established in 2007, is the national accrediting body for state, tribal, local, and territorial health departments.

Strategies

The grantee is supported to conduct activities related to the following strategies:

1. Promote, communicate, and provide education regarding the accreditation program to diverse and relevant audiences.
2. Evolve, improve, and/or develop new products, services, and tools to ensure a relevant, current, and smoothly functioning program, as well as respond to new needs from the field. (All elements of the current program can be found at www.phaboard.orgExternal.)
3. Strengthen strategic partnerships to support or advance accreditation.
4. Strengthen the evidence base for accreditation and the use of accreditation to advance public health practice.

Outcomes

 This project supports the operations and continuous improvement of a national accreditation program for state, tribal, local, and territorial public health departments. The short-term  outcomes of this project include—

1. An increased number of state, tribal, local, and territorial public health departments meeting national consensus standards and achieving accreditation status
2. Increased use of quality improvement
3. Increased accountability

Anticipated long-term outcomes include—

1. Stronger public health agencies
2. Improved community health and reduced health disparities
3. Increased recognition of the role and value of public health
4. New evidence of the relationship between accreditation, performance, and health outcomes

Funding Period

• Budget Period Length: 12 months (July 1, 2018–June 30, 2019)
• Project Period Length: 5 years (July 1, 2018–June 30, 2023)