Overview
The National Public Health Performance Standards
Program (NPHPSP) is a collaborative effort to enhance
the Nation’s public health systems. Seven national
public health organizations have partnered to develop
national performance standards for State and local
public health systems.
The stated mission and goals of the NPHPSP are
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.
The NPHPSP is a collaborative effort of national
partners representing the organizations and individuals
that will use the performance standards:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
Office of the Chief of Public Health Practice
(CDC / OCPHP),
- American Public Health Association (APHA),
- Association of State and Territorial Health
Officials (ASTHO),
- National Association of County and City
Health Officials (NACCHO),
- National Association of Local Boards of
Health (NALBOH),
- National Network of Public Health Institutes
(NNPHI), and
- Public Health Foundation (PHF).
The Instruments
The NPHPSP includes three instruments:
- The State Public Health System Assessment
Instrument focuses on the “state public
health system,” which includes state public
health agencies and other partners that contribute
to public health services at the state level.
This instrument was developed by ASTHO and CDC.
- The Local Public Health System Assessment
Instrument focuses on the “local public
health system” or all entities that contribute
to public health services within a community.
The local instrument was developed by NACCHO
and CDC.
- The Local Public Health Governance
Assessment Instrument focuses on the
governing body accountable for public health
at the local level. Such governing bodies may
include boards of health, councils, or county
commissioners. The governance instrument was
developed by NALBOH and CDC.
There are four concepts that have helped to frame
the NPHPSP:
- The standards are designed around
the ten Essential Public Health Services
to assure that the standards fully cover the
gamut of public health action needed at state
and community levels.
- The standards focus on the overall
public health system (all public, private,
and voluntary entities that contribute to public
health activities within a given area), rather
than a single organization. This assures that
the contributions of all entities are recognized
in assessing the provision of essential public
health services.
- The standards describe an optimal
level of performance rather than provide
minimum expectations. This assures that the
standards can be used for continuous quality
improvement. The standards can stimulate greater
accomplishment and provide a level to which
all public health systems can aspire to achieve.
- The standards are intended to support
a process of quality improvement. System
partners should use the assessment process and
the performance standards results as a guide
for learning about public health activities
throughout the system and determining how to
make improvements.
The Benefits of Implementation
The NPHPSP is a valuable tool in identifying
areas for system improvement, strengthening state
and local partnerships, and assuring 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 public’s 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. Responses
to the assessment can be tracked over time to
identify system improvements or changes.
- Provides a benchmark for public
health practice improvements, by providing
a “gold standard” to which public health systems
can aspire.
Resources and Technical Assistance
State and
local public health systems are encouraged to conduct
the performance assessment through a coordinated
statewide approach. The NPHPSP provides a variety
of resources, including training and technical assistance,
to support states in moving toward statewide performance
standards implementation.
Resources
Assessment Instruments (local, state, and governance),
Glossary, and User Guide documents may be downloaded at
www.cdc.gov/od/ocphp/nphpsp/. Links to
NPHPSP partner organizations and additional
resources, such as case studies and quality improvement
tools, are also available at this website. Information
on MAPP, a community strategic planning process
that incorporates the NPHPSP local instrument, is
available at www.naccho.org.
Technical Assistance
CDC and NPHPSP partners are available for phone
and email consultation to states and localities
as they plan for NPHPSP implementation.
Training
CDC and NPHPSP partners can provide training to
states planning statewide implementation of the
NPHPSP instruments. Different formats such as satellite
videoconferencing, regional meetings, or a statewide
orientation conference, can be considered, as can
a train-the-trainer approach.
NPHPSP Brochure (PDF)
NPHPSP Fact Sheet (PDF)
For More Information
Contact NPHPSP staff at 1-800-747-7649 or
phpsp@cdc.gov |