Reaccredited health departments

Reaccreditation Survey (Survey 5)

Form Approved
OMB No. XXXX-XXXX
Expiration Date XX/XX/XXXX
Welcome
NORC at the University of Chicago (NORC) is asking health departments that have been reaccredited to participate
in a survey about national public health department reaccreditation. The survey includes questions about the
reaccreditation process, challenges, benefits, and short-term outcomes from reaccreditation. NORC is conducting
this survey on behalf of the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) and the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) to evaluate the outcomes of the national public health accreditation program. The questions and
topics in this survey are intended for the Director of your health department, or a designee, if the Director is
unable to complete the survey. Thank you for participating in this survey.
Directions
Use your mouse to click on the circle or box to indicate your answer. Click “Next” to advance to the next page, and
scroll to the bottom of each page and click “Previous” to return to the previous page. On the last page of the
questionnaire, click “Done” to complete the questionnaire. Note: once you click “Done,” you will not be able to edit
or return to your questionnaire responses.
If you have technical difficulties, contact Megan Heffernan at heff[email protected] or 301-634-9412. Thank
you again for your participation.
Background
The survey is estimated to take 20 minutes or less to complete. Your open and honest feedback is appreciated.
Findings from this assessment will be included in a report to PHAB and CDC and may be publicly available. All data
will be presented in the aggregate. Report findings will not be linked to the organization that completed the survey.
For more information about this assessment, please contact Project Director Michael Meit at [email protected].

CDC estimates the average public reporting burden for this collection of information as 20 minutes per response,
including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data/information sources, gathering and
maintaining the data/information needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. An agency
may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays
a currently valid OMB control number. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this
collection of information, including suggestions for reducing burden to CDC/ATSDR Reports Clearance Officer;
1600 Clifton Road NE MS H21-8, Atlanta GA 30333 (ATTN: PRA (0920-xxxx).

Reaccreditation Survey (Survey 5)
Information About Your Health Department

* 1. Name of Health Department:

Note: This information will be used to analyze findings by health department structure, size, and geographic
region; responses will not be linked to any specific health department.

* 2. Respondent Role:
Director of Health Department
Accreditation Coordinator
Other, please describe:

Reaccreditation Survey (Survey 5)
PHAB Reaccreditation Standards and Measures

3. For each statement below, consider your impressions of and experiences with the PHAB
Reaccreditation Standards and Measures. Please check the appropriate column to indicate
whether you Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, or Strongly Disagree. If you are unsure, please
select Don’t Know.
Strongly
Agree

The PHAB Reaccreditation Standards and
Measures allow for accurate measurement
of the public health capabilities and
performance in our health department.
The PHAB Reaccreditation Standards and
Measures accurately assess health
departments’ improvements and
advancements.
The PHAB Reaccreditation Standards and
Measures accurately reflect the practice of
high-performing health departments.

Agree

Disagree

Strongly
Disagree

Don’t Know

Reaccreditation Survey (Survey 5)
Reaccreditation Process

4. For each statement below, consider your impressions of, and experiences with, the PHAB
Reaccreditation Process.
Strongly
Agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly
Disagree

Don't Know

The Population Health Outcomes Reporting
requirement led our health department to
place greater emphasis on tracking health
outcomes.
Preparing for reaccreditation led our health
department to make useful changes in the
way we track population health outcomes
(e.g., adding new metrics or benchmarks or
changing targets)
The process of developing the Measure
narratives provided insights on how to
improve our health department’s
performance.
The process of developing the Measure
narratives led us to assess our health
department overall (i.e., as a system or
cross-departmental, rather than program by
program).
The Reaccreditation Report provided
insights about how to improve our health
department’s performance.

5. Please describe any strategic changes that your health department made as a result of the
process of developing the Measures narratives?

6. Please provide any additional feedback about the PHAB Reaccreditation Standards and
Measures and/or process to help inform improvements.

Reaccreditation Survey (Survey 5)
Accreditation Committee Action Requirements (ACAR)

7. Did the Accreditation Committee require your health department to develop any
Accreditation Committee Action Requirements (ACAR)?
Yes
No
Don’t know

Reaccreditation Survey (Survey 5)
Accreditation Committee Action Requirements (ACAR)

8. It was beneficial for our health department to implement the activities identified in the
ACAR.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know

9. Please provide additional comments about the ACAR process, if desired.

Reaccreditation Survey (Survey 5)
Challenges

Please answer the following questions about the challenges your health
department experienced as you completed the PHAB Reaccreditation Process.
10. Did your health department experience any of the following challenges while applying for
reaccreditation?
Select all that apply.
Leadership changes
Staff turnover or loss of key staff
Limited staff time or other schedule limitations
Decreased perceived value or benefit
Decreased priority for our health department
Decreased support from board of health or governing entity
Decreased support from other elected leaders
Decreased support from health department leadership team
Limited funding or financial constraints
Difficulty writing narrative responses
Difficulty identifying population health outcomes to report
Unanticipated costs
None
Other, please describe:

11. For each of the challenges selected above, please describe how your health department
overcame the obstacle.

Reaccreditation Survey (Survey 5)
Benefits and Outcomes

12. For each statement below, consider the benefits or outcomes your health department may
have experienced: 1) since you began your accreditation journey (including preparing for and
gaining accreditation status) and 2) because of your preparation for and participation in the
reaccreditation process. Please select all that apply. For example, if your health department
experienced a particular benefit during initial accreditation and reaccreditation, select both
columns.

We have have experienced
this since we began the
accreditation journey
Stimulated greater collaboration across departments or
units within our health department
Improved integration across departments or units in
our health department
Stimulated greater accountability and transparency
within our health department
Strengthened employee pride in our agency
Improved our health department’s overall capacity to
provide high quality programs and services
Increased the extent to which our health department
uses evidence-based practices for public health
programs and/or business practices
Improved utilization of resources within our health
department
Led us to compare our health department’s programs,
processes, and/or outcomes against other similar health
departments as a benchmark for performance
Led our health department to apply health equity to
internal planning, policies, or processes
Improved our health department’s ability to identify
and address gaps in employee training and workforce
development
Strengthened the culture of QI in our health
department
Improved the credibility of our health department
within our community and/or state
Improved our health department’s visibility or
reputation to external stakeholders
Led to new opportunities for partnerships and/or
collaborations
Strengthened our health department’s relationship
with key partners in other sectors (e.g., health care,
social services, education)
Helped us to build relationships with new partners
across sectors (e.g., health care, social services,
education)
Helped our health department use health equity as a
lens for identifying and addressing health priorities
Led to improved health outcomes in our community

We have experienced this
because of our
preparation
for/participation in the
reaccreditation process

Reaccreditation Survey (Survey 5)
Benefits and Outcomes

Consider the benefits or outcomes your health department may have
experienced because of your preparation for and participation in the
reaccreditation process.
13. Our health department experienced benefits from participating in the reaccreditation
process that went beyond the benefits of participating in the initial accreditation process.
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know

14. Please provide additional detail regarding the benefits of the reaccreditation process, if
desired.

Reaccreditation Survey (Survey 5)
Quality Improvement and Performance Management

Please answer the following questions regarding the current quality
improvement (QI) and performance management culture in your agency.
15. Indicate the level of familiarity your health department staff members have with QI.
Have no knowledge of QI
Subset of staff have familiarity with QI
Majority of staff have familiarity with QI
Subset of staff are knowledgeable and practice QI
Majority of staff are knowledgeable and practice QI
Majority of staff routinely practice/use QI
Don’t know

16. Currently QI in my agency is…
Not practiced anywhere
Talked about, but not required
Conducted informally; sporadic program efforts
Conducted formally in specific areas
Conducted formally and agency-wide
Our culture
Don’t know

17. Approximately what percentage of staff in your organization have received training in
performance management and/or QI?
0–5%
6–25%
26–50%
51–75%
76–95%
96–100%
Don't know

Reaccreditation Survey (Survey 5)
Workforce Development and Training

Please answer the following question about your health department’s
workforce development and training.
18. Select all workforce development and training activities currently implemented by your
health department. Select all that apply.
Include education and training objectives in performance reviews
Allow participation in training during working hours
Pay travel/registration fees for trainings
Provide on-site training
Have staff position(s) whose responsibilities include coordinating internal training for employees
Provide employee reward and recognition programs
Other, please describe:

Reaccreditation Survey (Survey 5)
Financial Status

19. For each statement below, consider the financial benefits or outcomes your health
department may have experienced since becoming accredited.
Strongly
Agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly
Disagree

Don't
Know

N/A

Accreditation has improved our health
department’s competitiveness for funding
opportunities.
Accreditation has resulted in new funding
for our health department.
Accreditation has had a positive impact on
our health department budget (e.g., helped
us demonstrate our value and needs in
budget discussions, or protected the health
department against budget cuts).

20. If you strongly agree or agree with any of the previous statements about financial status,
please provide specific examples.

Reaccreditation Survey (Survey 5)
Additional Feedback

21. Our health department made the correct decision to apply for reaccreditation through
PHAB.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Don't Know

22. Please provide additional feedback regarding reaccreditation, if desired.

Reaccreditation Survey (Survey 5)
Thank You

Thank you for your participation!