141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

276943
Lessons learned from QI, performance measurement and culture change

Monday, November 4, 2013 : 8:50 AM - 9:10 AM

Magaly Angeloni, MBA, DrPH(c) , Office of the Director, Rhode Island Department of Health, Providence, RI
The recently launched Public Health Accreditation program is engaging departments of health across the nation to institute Quality Improvement (QI) in their daily work. And the benefits of QI are going beyond the improvement of processes, projects and policies. The QI tools are getting to the root cause of the problems, revealing real challenges, opening the dialogue about the agencies' culture, and fostering innovation to problem solving.

A state health agency used the QI tools to increase the number of programs submitting monthly updates to the performance measures report. Using the PDCA model, and QI tools like the flowchart and fishbone diagram, the process was analyzed and root causes came to light. As a result, the percent of programs submitting monthly data increased from 57% to 75% in a period of six months. While this increase might be modest, QI uncovered and confirmed a real challenge in public health: preparing for accreditation requires a culture shift.

This presentation will discuss: a) the root causes discovered through the QI tools; b) the performance measures strategy used by the public health agency; c) the approaches the agency put in practice to nurture a culture change.

Public health is working with tight budgets and facing multiple demands, but is eager to get better. The lessons learned from this experience illustrate the value and utility of promoting and nurturing a culture change.

Learning Areas:
Administration, management, leadership
Public health administration or related administration

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the value of the QI tools in public health Describe one approach to monitor performance measures in a public health agency Name three strategies to promote a culture that welcomes performance measurement

Keywords: Performance Measurement, Quality Improvement

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: In my current position, since August 2011, I am responsible for preparing my agency to apply for public health accreditation. My role includes training the staff and leadership for accreditation, leading the Quality Improvement efforts, working with management and leadership in the development and monthly tracking of performance measures, and overall being an agent of change to promote a QI culture throughout the organization. My professional interests include workforce development and organizational improvement.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.