The PHAB 5 met on March 26th for a full day of discussion on accreditation, its challenges, its successes, and moving forward.  We found that the informal conversations our partners had with their constituents provided a wealth of discussion material and subsequent answers to common questions. We will address some of what we heard in this edition of the newsletter and continue with some additional words of wisdom in each edition in the future.
 
1. What constitutes a community health assessment? What are the standards for pre-requisite documents?
 
For PHAB's purposes, an assessment is collecting, analyzing and using data to educate and mobilize communities, develop priorities, garner resources, and plan actions to improve public health. It is one of the core functions of public health, which is why it's in the accreditation standards. It involves the systematic collection and analysis of data in order to provide the health department and the community it serves with a sound basis for decision-making. It should include collecting statistics on health status, health needs, assets, resources, and other public health issues. Community (or state) health assessment links directly to the standards and measures in PHAB's Domain 1 of Part B. The intention here is that, for accreditation purposes, the health department can demonstrate that it systematically assesses its jurisdiction's health status and can describe it. Most health departments should have access to the data needed. Putting it altogether in an organized way to describe the health status or health profile of the community it serves might be a little different way to use the information available. If you think about it, a good health assessment should lay the groundwork for the rest of what the accreditation self-assessment is all about. Still confused? Check out the Guide to Standards and Measures Interpretation on the PHAB website. 
 
Next month, we will spend some time discussing the use of the assessment information to conduct community health improvement planning or state health improvement planning. Stay tuned. 
 
2. For those Beta Test sites that are stressing over incomplete self-assessment documents, there is shared wisdom among the PHAB 5: "It is much more important to get through the process than to get it perfect." The Beta Test is designed to test as much of the accreditation process as we can. When the sites were selected, we deliberately chose sites with a diverse array of readiness. That's what makes it a good Beta Test. Since accreditation isn't going to be awarded for the Beta Test sites, there will still be time to develop documents before they apply for accreditation. We have asked the Beta Test sites to give us as much as they can so that we can complete the Beta Test process and then work toward addressing their gaps before they apply for accreditation. As of the writing of this newsletter, some of the sites have completed their self-assessment, and their site visits have been scheduled! 
 
3. What are the links between quality improvement work and public health accreditation?

 

The cornerstone of PHAB's accreditation program is to advance the quality of public health performance across the country. Quality improvement (QI) and accreditation are linked for the health department in that we hope the accreditation self-assessment process leads the health department to identify areas where improvement can be made in efficiency, effectiveness, quality or performance of services, processes, capacities, and outcomes. There are many proven models for guiding QI work. PHAB does not require a particular model. It needs to be the one that works for the health department. PHAB is looking for approaches to QI that are agency-wide. See PHAB's Glossary of Terms for definitions that may be helpful, and see Domain 9 of Part B for more detailed descriptions of the elements.
 
4. There is also time tested wisdom on uploading documents for the Beta Test self-assessment.

 

Do it early and often. Large documents usually take time to upload, the amount of time often being dependent on your computer system's capability. It's important to upload documents as you go and do not wait until the end of the process. It also helps to be very selective in choosing your documentation. Often, less is more, both for uploading and for site visitor review. Think about what you want to review if you were a site visitor.
 
If you have a suggestion for future segments of "Word on the Street," please send them to Donna Davis, PHAB's Director of Public and Constituent Relations, at ddavis@phaboard.org.