[LHDAccreditation] Fwd: PHAB E-Newsletter Special Edition: Standards & Measures Version 1.5 Released

Mon Jan 27 12:11:35 PST 2014

Standards Version 1.5 to go into effect July 1, 2014. Please see below.

*Kathleen Johnson*, *MPH*
Program Manager
Coalition of Local Health Officials
Phone: 630-740-0088
*kathleen at oregonclho.org <kathleen at oregonclho.org> *
Check out the CLHO website: www.oregonclho.org for accreditation
information and resources.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: PHAB E-News <tnicolaus at phaboard.org>
Date: Fri, Jan 24, 2014 at 2:17 PM
Subject: PHAB E-Newsletter Special Edition: Standards & Measures Version
1.5 Released
To: kathleen at oregonclho.org

                 [image: PHAB E-Newsletter Header]

*PHAB E-Newsletter: Special Edition: January 24, 2014*

*PUBLIC HEALTH ACCREDITATION STANDARDS AND MEASURES, VERSION 1.5 RELEASED*

PHAB is pleased to release Version 1.5 of the Public Health Accreditation
Standards and Measures.<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001P8jy9qPB9NLcF6TgiCNJY5UuptYWecuStuDsmDNXtBBrXJV5JkD8V6j09LB-MwJirljC3MMrH4_ffhRjvJZ3ZTdxO1mepBaPsm-aUc2isrziLA7olTXHqt06d2eBAuvDX-isRzwkw8EONmqKc2ghPn4n_AK5haAEn_JHz37jcg4RipEhwJILlKRQIJSkS7_wJayYFiOHB_Kwk-zLIrQYiqt04-cszIo9HWEO94vTEPvo3jxn5ORopUW86pB3tqzRV8Gq56iMj5s=&c=A5a2ni8E9Onv47P47Cqb3bc5wFnEcw6ndljX3b3aA_0oo_Vv7OdvtQ==&ch=rZOifhlF3976B3lO-PAC25i7VCZ7qRyMzWDIo2OR9IxeNCnT1Zj4IA==>This
new version of the Standards and Measures improves them by clarifying
the wording of requirements, stipulating the number of examples that are
required for each measure, and specifying the timeframe for each measure.
Additionally, a limited number of noteworthy public health issues that are
emerging as important forces in the advancement of public health have been
included. These are issues that the field requested that PHAB consider
adding to, or emphasizing in, the Standards and Measures.

Though PHAB believes that Version 1.5 is a significant improvement, Version
1.5 is not a complete overhaul of the Standards and Measures, Version
1.0.<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001P8jy9qPB9NLcF6TgiCNJY5UuptYWecuStuDsmDNXtBBrXJV5JkD8V4uM5yxMJvC8PWU7gycakPJIrBOaQHhESnLiSze1S8X75gn3VwOz-MqrKLBcwIA3q_LxVXrlbL8_erDwZ185oasvKdP5ioETLtCEtjYR1nJ60r6AWQtv438pd9-MNl9dFxWZWdqYr76vu6gj67Ip9oII3B1QNmnILY0xUpW9cxgvtjlISnr_Do4GEOdtcoswQzNs8hUF3i6VoocO7E17VE0=&c=A5a2ni8E9Onv47P47Cqb3bc5wFnEcw6ndljX3b3aA_0oo_Vv7OdvtQ==&ch=rZOifhlF3976B3lO-PAC25i7VCZ7qRyMzWDIo2OR9IxeNCnT1Zj4IA==>These
revisions are based on having used the Standards and Measures,
Version 1.0 and identified areas in need of clarification or emphasis. PHAB
does not intend to revise the Standards and Measures frequently. The next
revisions will be limited to address specific topics as new information
becomes available and a change is indicated.

Version 1.5 is intended to encourage the public health field to advance but
to not create barriers to health departments applying for or achieving
accreditation. Therefore, some changes that were proposed by the field were
deliberately delayed for a future version. Version 1.5 lays the groundwork
for that future advancement in public health. In order to keep the field
informed of how the revisions in Version 1.5 will lead to future
expectations, PHAB will release briefing papers for each emerging issue
content area. PHAB is also revising the PHAB Acronyms and Glossary of Terms
which will be posted on the PHAB website prior to July 1, 2014.

*Standards and Measures, Version 1.5 Effective Date*

Version 1.5 becomes effective on July 1, 2014.

*Decisions Regarding Which Version Is Applicable to Your Health Department *

Health department directors must submit their application in e-PHAB by
11:59 PM Eastern Time on June 2, 2014 to be assessed under Version 1.0 of
the Standards and Measures. This will provide sufficient time for PHAB to
review the application, the health department to correct of any errors
noted by PHAB staff, and PHAB to conduct the final review and accept the
application before July 1, 2014. It is necessary to provide this 30 days
for the application to be reviewed by PHAB and accepted because
historically, 53 percent of applications have required a change after the
PHAB staff review. Health departments that submit their applications on
June 3, 2014 or after will be reviewed and assessed using Version 1.5 of
the Standards and Measures.

PHAB strongly recommends that health departments wanting to apply under
Standards and Measures, Version 1.0 submit their Statement of Intent (SOI)
as soon as possible. That way, the initial step will be complete, the
health department will have access to the application form, and the health
department Accreditation Coordinator and health department director will
have time to complete and submit the application before June 2, 2014.
Receiving health departments' SOIs also helps PHAB plan its internal
workload in order to serve you better.

PHAB recommends that health departments review the proposed changes to the
Standards and Measures before they automatically decide that they will
apply under Version 1.0. The proposed changes contained in Version 1.5
include many improvements in clarity of requirements. Also, the topic areas
specifically addressed in the proposed changes, while not numerous, are
important public health issues. PHAB believes that it will serve many
health departments well to wait and apply under Version 1.5.

*Standard and Measures Principles*

A set of principles guided PHAB's revision of the Standards and Measures.

PHAB Standards and Measures will:

   - Advance the collective public health practice;
   - Be at the moderate level - not minimum, not maximum;
   - Be clear, reduce redundancy, minimize burden;
   - Build quality improvement into standards;
   - Apply to all sizes of HDs and all forms of governance structure;
   - Establish the same standards for Tribal, state, and local health
   departments (different measures);
   - Be reflective of emerging public health issues and opportunities; and
   - Promote effective internal and external collaborative partnerships.

*Summary of the Process to Develop Version 1.5*

PHAB staff began the development of proposed revisions to the standards and
measures in late 2012. Revisions were based on information obtained through
feedback and questions received from health departments and site visitors;
a series of Think Tanks and Expert Panels; and materials obtained from
health departments, meetings, conferences, and readings. The PHAB
Accreditation Improvement Committee, charged by the PHAB Board with guiding
the revision of the standards and measures, held its first meeting in early
June, 2013 and adopted proposed changes. The proposed changes were released
during the summer of 2013 for a 30-day public comment period. PHAB received
a total of 419 comments. The Accreditation Improvement Committee held its
second meeting in October 2013. The Committee reviewed the information
obtained from the vetting and proposed a final Version 1.5. The PHAB Board
of Directors adopted the Standards and Measures, Version 1.5 during their
December 2013 Board meeting.

*Summary of Changes in Version 1.5*

Important editorial changes include:

   - Columns for the number of required examples and date requirements were
   added.
   - Standards and measures were reworded to improve clarity.
   - The word "should" was removed and replaced with "must" or the
   requirement was deleted.
   - PHAB's definition of "core public health programs" was clarified.

Content changes focused on five emerging public issues that the field
requested be emphasized or added.

*Public Health Communication Science*

The revised Standards and Measures:

   - Emphasize the use of various media, as appropriate, including digital
   media.
   - Require relationships with the media and the use of diverse media
   outlets (for example, urban radio stations; free community newspapers;
   migrant worker newspapers; immigrant, ethnically targeted, and non-English
   language newspapers or radio stations, etc.).
   - Require health departments to have a branding strategy.
   - Require a planned approach for developing and implementing health
   promotion strategies.

*Public Health Informatics*

        The revised Standards and Measures:

   - Require the capacity to use data from multiple data sources for
   decision making.
   - Require secure information systems, maintenance of information
   management system, and management of information assets.
   - Require that the information management function supports the health
   department's mission and workforce by providing infrastructure for data
   storage, protection, and management; data analysis; and reporting.
   - Require a policy that the department adheres to federal, state, and
   local privacy protection regulations for handling data.

*Public Health Workforce Development*

        The revised Standards and Measures:

   - Require the workforce development plan to address collective capacity
   and capability, gaps and strategies to address them, and the changing
   public health environment.
   - Consolidate workforce issues by moving human resources content from
   Domain 11 (Administrative and Management) to Domain 8 (Public Health
   Workforce).
   - Reformat the requirements for a workforce development plan to be more
   streamlined.
   - Require staff professional development.
   - Require a supportive work environment.

*Emergency Preparedness*

        The revised Standards and Measures:

   - Add the concept of community resilience.
   - Better define "cluster evaluation" and "disaster."

*Health Equity*

        The revised Standards and Measures:

   - Use the phrase "specific populations with higher health risks or
   poorer health outcomes" throughout to address the concept of health equity.
   - Require "efforts to specifically address factors that contribute to
   specific populations' higher health risks and poorer health outcomes."
   - Added examples through out of demographic data, contributing causes,
   and factors such as socioeconomic factors, immigration status,
   racial/ethnic, sexual orientation, insurance status, housing,
   transportation, access to healthy foods, poverty, policies that address
   social determinants of health, etc.
   - Require that CHIP policy changes include those that are adopted to
   alleviate the identified causes of health inequity. Policy changes may
   address, for example, the social and economic conditions that influence
   health equity including housing, transportation, education, job
   availability, neighborhood safety, and zoning.
   - Provide additional examples of non-traditional partners in
   partnerships that address specific public health issues or
populations (e.g.,
   housing or transportation) and require that partnerships include
   representatives of the communities impacted.