Kaye Bender, PhD, RN, FAAN, President and CEO, Public Health Accreditation Board

PHAB is using the definition of quality improvement in public health that was developed by the Accreditation Coalition and published in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice (January/February, 2010). Specifically, that definition states that quality improvement in public health is:

A continuous and ongoing effort to achieve measurable improvements in the efficiency, effectiveness, performance, accountability, outcomes and other indicators of quality of services or processes that achieve equity and improve the health of the community.

In that same article, the difference between “small QI” and “large QI” are described.  “Small” quality improvement efforts are often focused at the program or activity level, and are a great way to learn a specific model. “Large” quality improvement efforts are conducted organization-wide and are system focused. Public health can be transformed through the adoption of a comprehensive approach to QI where it becomes incorporated into everything the health department does rather than a separate set of activities.  Adopting a quality improvement culture allows a health department to:

•    Set focus on a vital few priorities
•    Create a sense of urgency for measurable results and a culture of quality
•    Engage every employee
•    Build QI time into daily workload
•    Adopt fact-based decision making
•    Reward and celebrate progress

PHAB recognizes that learning about quality improvement models and language is new for many health departments. And yet, it is the cornerstone upon which accreditation is based. It’s not about the accreditation certificate; it’s about the focus on learning to do what we do better and sharing that knowledge with others.