What is Public Health Accreditation?
- The measurement of health department performance against a set of nationally recognized, practice-focused and evidenced-based standards.
- The issuance of recognition of achievement of accreditation within a specified time frame by a nationally recognized entity.
- The continual development, revision, and distribution of public health standards.
The mission of the Public Health Accreditation Board is to advance and transform public health practice by championing performance improvement, strong infrastructure, and innovation. Accreditation and recognition provide a means for health departments to build capacity in key public health areas. PHAB offers two programs for health departments to be recognized for meeting national public health standards. Public Health Accreditation and Pathways Recognition. Accreditation and Recognition provide a means for health departments to build capacity in key public health areas, support performance improvement efforts, and can be part of a health department’s transformation journey. Each is built on evidence-based standards that allow health departments to demonstrate performance and accountability to communities, policymakers, and other stakeholders. Benefits of Accreditation and Recognition include:
- Promotes a culture of quality and performance improvement
- Increases capacity to respond to public health emergencies
- Encourages the use of equity as a lens to identify health priorities
- Strengthens health departments to better serve communities
- Assures stakeholders that the health department is delivering Foundational Capabilities