National Public Health Performance Standards Program

About the Program

The stated mission of the NPHPSP is to improve the quality of public health practice and the performance of public health systems by:

• Providing performance standards for public health systems,
• Improving quality and accountability of public health practice,
• Conducting systematic collection and analysis of performance data, and

• Developing a science-base for public health practice improvement.

  Why use the National Public Health Performance Standards?

  The NPHPSP is a valuable tool used to identify areas for system improvement, strengthen state and local partnerships, and assure that a strong system is in place for effective response to day-to-day public health issues as well as public health emergencies. NPHPSP instrument users at all levels report numerous such benefits, including:

• Improves organizational and community communication and collaboration, by bringing partners to the same table.
• Educates participants about public health and the interconnectedness of activities, which can lead to a higher appreciation and awareness of the many activities related to improving the publics health.
• Strengthens the diverse network of partners within state and local public health systems, which can lead to more cohesion among partners, better coordination of activities and resources, and less duplication of services.
• Identifies strengths and weaknesses to address in quality improvement efforts.
• Provides a benchmark for public health practice improvements, by providing a gold standard to which public health systems can aspire.

  The Role of Public Health Institutes

  Public health institutes have promoted the use of the NPHPSP and in some cases have been contracted to coordinate the NPHPSP implementation. Institutes have also assisted state and local public health systems with quality improvement efforts once assessments have been implemented. For example, the Maine Center for Public Health led the efforts for local health department system assessments. Read more…

  Telconference Series for Users of the NPHPSP

  NNPHI hosts monthly teleconferences for users of the NPHPSP and interested parties. The calls provide an opportunity to share experiences and lessons learned with fellow NPHPSP users as well as learn about topics on a national level that relate to performance assessment. Summaries and audio recordings can be accessed by visiting the eCatalog. Under programs select “National Public Health Performance Standards” then click “search.” To be notified of upcoming teleconferences, please send an email to jmckeever@nnphi.org.

  RECENT CALLS

  June 16, 2009
  Presentation Slides

  May 19, 2009
  Story from the Field: Using the Local Instrument

  NPHPSP Training Workshops

  NNPHI co-coordinates an annual training workshop each April for new NPHPSP users and NPHPSP users who are engaged in performance improvement activities.

  Additional Resources for NPHPSP Users

  Assessment Instruments, a glossary, a User Guide, and a toolkit full of information and sample documents can be accessed on the CDC NPHPSP site. NPHPSP Additional resources, such as case studies and quality improvement tools, are also available at this website.

  For more information, please contact Jennifer McKeever at jmckeever@nnphi.org or 202-842-2022.