Resources & Tools

As a grantee in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Public Health Improvement Initiative (NPHII), the Houston Department of Health and Human Services (HDHHS) provided quality improvement (QI) training to employees in the department using the Public Health Foundation (PHF) Train-the-Trainer...

Applying Performance Measurement to Public Health Policy Activities

August 7, 2012

Use this performance measurement tool developed by PHF and the American Public Health Association to develop performance measures for your policy activities. This tool offers an introduction to performance measurement within the context of performance management. The first section of the tool...

Strategic Practice Selection Exercise

June 29, 2012

The Strategic Practice Selection Exercise is a data driven decision making exercise to show how health departments can use a strategic practice selection process to assess the availability, affordability, accessibility, and utility of potential interventions. The priority areas selected for this exercise...

Key Ingredients in Public Health Quality Improvement

May 29, 2012

The emphasis on quality improvement (QI) continues to intensify for public health departments. The growing focus on accreditation, along with realistic concerns about optimizing efficiency while positively impacting the public’s health, are fueling this interest. To support the efforts of health departments...

Making AIM Statements More Robust

April 19, 2012

Quality improvement teams should begin their improvement efforts by creating an AIM statement that defines the problem and the goals. PHF’s Senior Quality Advisor Jack Moran and Maine Department of Health and Human Service’s Performance Improvement Manager Brynn Riley wrote an article detailing the...

Quality Improvement Transforms Knox County Tennessee

November 17, 2011

Knox County Health Department in Tennessee began using Quality Improvement (QI) tools and techniques to address asthma management in their local community. At the conclusion of an asthma management demonstration project, funded by AstraZeneca, Knox County administrators wanted to integrate QI into...

Applying QI Techniques to Analyze Problems and Find Solutions Presentation

July 12, 2011

These presentation slides provide a basic introduction to quality improvement (QI) as it pertains to the National Public Health Performance Standards (NPHPS) and other public health initiatives and activities. Topics in the presentation include the purpose and usage of basic QI problem solving tools,...

Improving the Planning and Performance Measurement Reporting System

June 27, 2011

The goal of this rapid cycle improvement (RCI) project was to streamline the reporting process of the Minnesota Planning and Performance Measurement Reporting System to improve the content and quality of the data submitted and add more value for state and local stakeholders. RCI PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act)...

Quality Improvement Is Not Just For Problems: Success and Effect Diagram

June 24, 2011

Quality Improvement tools and techniques have been used extensively for solving problems in organizations. The authors of the ASQ Newsletter article Quality Improvement is Not Just for Problems: Success and Effect Diagram propose using those same methods to analyze successful processes. Understanding...

A Lean Day in the Tulsa Health Department White Paper

April 13, 2011

With assistance from PHF, the Tulsa Health Department Quality Improvement Council (QIC) conducted a Lean event in three of its facilities with the objective of beautification of the environment and creating efficiency for the customer. Lean is a process management philosophy that helps optimize the...

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