PMID- 22139320
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20120406
LR  - 20111205
IS  - 1550-5022 (Electronic)
IS  - 1078-4659 (Linking)
VI  - 18
IP  - 1
DP  - 2012 Jan-Feb
TI  - Legal frameworks supporting public health department accreditation: lessons 
      learned from 10 states.
PG  - E8-E16
LID - 10.1097/PHH.0b013e31822f62b0 [doi]
AB  - CONTEXT: The existence of different types of accreditation legal frameworks, 
      embedded in complex and varying state legal infrastructures and political 
      environments, raises important legal implications for the national voluntary 
      accreditation program. OBJECTIVE: To increase an understanding of 
      accreditation-enabling laws nationwide. DESIGN: In 2010 to 2011, the North 
      Carolina Institute for Public Health conducted a study of state legal frameworks 
      supporting public health department accreditation or related programs (ie, 
      certification/assessment, performance management, and quality improvement). 
      First, a mapping study was conducted to identify current programs and their legal 
      frameworks. Ten states were then selected for in-depth qualitative case study. 
      Data were gathered through semistructured interviews with public health 
      practitioners and key stakeholders. RESULTS: The findings from the mapping study 
      delineate the accreditation, certification/assessment, performance management, or 
      quality improvement program currently in place and the type of legal framework 
      supporting it. The citations for statutes and regulations are also included. 
      Among the 18 states in the sample, 4 have accreditation programs, 6 have 
      certification/assessment programs, and 8 have performance management/quality 
      improvement programs. Accreditation programs were most likely to have a statutory 
      basis, while performance management and quality improvement programs were most 
      often supported via health department policy. The findings from the case study 
      provide greater detail about each state, reflecting public health structures, 
      programs, legal frameworks, approaches to Public Health Accreditation Board 
      (PHAB) accreditation, and legal strategies for achieving accreditation. 
      CONCLUSIONS: Early adopter states have pursued a variety of legal frameworks to 
      develop their accreditation, certification/assessment, performance management, 
      and quality improvement programs. With the voluntary national accreditation 
      program scheduled to go live in late 2011, these 10 states have also carefully 
      considered options for aligning their activities with PHAB accreditation. Lessons 
      derived from this examination can inform public health practitioners, advocates, 
      and elected officials about how to best structure legal frameworks to support 
      accreditation and related activities.
FAU - Matthews, Gene W
AU  - Matthews GW
AD  - North Carolina Institute for Public Health, Gillings School of Global Public 
      Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. 
      gwmatthe@email.unc.edu
FAU - Markiewicz, Milissa
AU  - Markiewicz M
FAU - Beitsch, Leslie M
AU  - Beitsch LM
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PL  - United States
TA  - J Public Health Manag Pract
JT  - Journal of public health management and practice : JPHMP
JID - 9505213
MH  - Accreditation/*legislation & jurisprudence
MH  - Humans
MH  - Interviews as Topic
MH  - Organizational Case Studies
MH  - Public Health Practice/*standards
MH  - United States
EDAT- 2011/12/06 06:00
MHDA- 2012/04/07 06:00
CRDT- 2011/12/06 06:00
PHST- 2011/12/06 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2011/12/06 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2012/04/07 06:00 [medline]
AID - 00124784-201201000-00018 [pii]
AID - 10.1097/PHH.0b013e31822f62b0 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - J Public Health Manag Pract. 2012 Jan-Feb;18(1):E8-E16. doi: 
      10.1097/PHH.0b013e31822f62b0.