Public health accreditation: rubber stamp or roadmap for improvement

We identified the characteristics of local health departments (LHDs) that intended to seek accreditation, and also examined the association between that intent and a complete community health assessment (CHA), community health improvement plan, agency strategic plan, or other specific accreditation requirements.

We analyzed data from the 2010 profile survey of LHDs conducted by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (n = 267).

Those LHDs that conducted a CHA (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.62; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.38, 1.00; P = .05) and developed a strategic plan (AOR = 0.30; 95% CI = 0.12, 0.74; P = .01) were less likely to have an intent to pursue accreditation in the first 2 years of the program. By contrast, those LHDs that were engaged in quality improvement (QI) activities were approximately 2.6 times more likely to pursue accreditation compared with those LHDs that did not have any QI activities (P < .001).

Based on our findings, national public health accreditation might be the vehicle LHDs could use to improve their operating environments, better manage their resources, and reap the rewards associated with meeting national industry standards.