Local Public Health Department Characteristics Associated With Likelihood to Participate in National Accreditation.

Abstract

We examined factors associated with completing, initiating, or intending to pursue voluntary national accreditation among local health departments (LHDs). We examined National Association of County and City Health Officials 2010 and 2013 profile data in a pooled cross-sectional design with bivariate and multivariable regression analyses. We conducted individual multivariable models with interest in accreditation and likely to accredit as outcome variables, comparing changes between 2010 and 2013. LHDs with formal quality improvement programs are significantly more likely to have initiated or completed the accreditation process (odds ratio [OR] = 7.99; confidence interval [CI] = 1.79, 35.60), to be likely to accredit (OR = 2.41; CI = 1.65, 3.50), or to report an interest in accreditation (OR = 2.32; CI = 1.67, 3.20). Interest was lower among LHDs in 2013 than in 2010 (OR = 0.56; CI = 0.41, 0.77); however, there was no difference regarding being likely to accredit. LHDs with a high number of full-time equivalent employees were more likely to indicate being likely to accredit or interest in accreditation. Quality improvement may facilitate the accreditation process or be a proxy measure for an unmeasurable LHD attribute that predicts accreditation.