In response to an increase in reported outbreaks of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in long-term care and other health care facilities, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) began participating as a pilot site in the Public Health Foundation’s (PHF) Antibiotic Stewardship Program. Maine CDC used the Public Health Antibiotic Stewardship Driver Diagram as a tool to help reduce transmission and acquisition of CDI through effective collaboration with health care partners. Using surveillance data, Maine CDC identified the facilities with the highest rates of CDI. Through effective partnerships with these health care facilities, Maine CDC implemented new intervention protocols to target those facilities where the interventions would do the greatest good.

 

To create opportunities for public health and health care system alignment to improve community health (one of PHF’s Strategic Goals), PHF has created a population health driver diagram framework. This framework is being used to articulate actions that can be taken by public health and health care at the community level to address specific health challenges. In 2012, PHF led development of the Public Health Antibiotic Stewardship Driver Diagram to address a challenge being faced by communities – improper use of antibiotics.

 

With funding from the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, PHF is currently leading an effort to develop a Population Health Driver Diagram to Increase Use of Oral Health Care Services. This driver diagram will help public health and health care organizations work together to ”Increase the proportion of children, adolescents, and adults who used the oral health care system in the past year,” which is a Healthy People 2020 Leading Health Indicator.

 

 

• Using a Population Health Driver Diagram to Support Health Care and Public Health Collaboration Discussion Paper, published by the Institute of Medicine
• Customized technical assistance to develop and implement a population health driver diagram
• Population health resources in PHF's Public Health Improvement Resource Center