An evaluation of accreditation and public health 101 staff training

Public health department accreditation is a national program that first launched in the year 2011. The program is designed to improve public health performance and continuous quality improvement within a Tribal, local, or state health department. Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) made the executive decision in the summer of 2014 to dedicate their time and commitment to the accreditation process. To launch this process department-wide, ACHD held an all-staff meeting to introduce employees to public health accreditation and to provide an overview of public health. At the conclusion, employees completed a survey addressing the content that was presented. Of the employees who attended the sessions, 52.3% reported that they agreed the information presented increased their understanding of public health accreditation. In addition, 44.7% of ACHD employees from the sessions were confident that the information presented during the training improved their understanding of the 10 Essential Services of Public Health. This evaluation will focus on the training, as well as recommendations to improve future meetings. The public health significance of this evaluation is that it will aid in improving meetings that will address accreditation and its component of assuring a competent workforce. A more competent workforce will result in better-trained workers who will work more efficiently. Therefore, this is expected to improve community health outcomes