Supporting Rural Community Emergency Planning, Response, and Recovery.

When rural communities are faced with an emergency or disaster, their capacity to support the response is often exceeded. The NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis and the Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub) developed the Rural Emergency Preparedness and Response Toolkit (the Toolkit) to support rural communities with disaster planning, response, and recovery. The Toolkit provides information drawn from literature, subject matter experts, and case studies and shares key considerations for emergency preparedness.

Benefits and Impacts of Public Health Accreditation for Small Local Health Departments.

Objective: This study sought to identify accreditation benefits and impacts among local health departments (LHDs) stratifying by size of population served to determine differences between small, medium, and large LHDs.

Background: The Public Health Accreditation Board operates the national accreditation program for public health departments, through which 306 LHDs have been accredited as of August 2022. Benefits of accreditation for LHDs are well documented, despite potential challenges and barriers to seeking accreditation.

The Public Health National Center for Innovations: An Initial Qualitative Evaluation.

Context: The Public Health National Center for Innovations (PHNCI) was launched in 2015 as a division of the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) to serve as a hub for fostering public health innovation and transformation.

Objectives: We explored perspectives of key informants to assess PHNCI's work in its first 5 years, including implementation of activities, outputs, accomplishments, and opportunities.

Design: This qualitative study involved a Web site review; secondary document review; 15 interviews with 17 key informants purposively sampled from 2 groups-PHNCI and PHAB staff and leadership (PHNCI respondents), and external partners and collaborators (external respondents); and thematic analysis of qualitative data.

Barriers and facilitators of older adults' use of ride share services.

Introduction: Safe, affordable, and convenient transportation may help older adults (age 65 and older) stay independent, access healthcare services, and maintain their quality of life. While older adults in the United States primarily rely on private automobiles, those who reduce or cease driving may require alternative forms of transportation. Ride share services show promise as an alternative mode of transportation for older adults, particularly for those who no longer drive.

Older Adult Willingness to Use Fully Autonomous Vehicle (FAV) Ride Sharing.

In the United States, older adults (age 65 and older) rely on private automobiles for transportation. For those who stop driving, access to alternative modes of transportation is important for health, wellbeing, mobility, and independence. This paper explores older adult willingness to use fully autonomous vehicle (FAV) ride sharing and the features or services of FAV ride sharing that would make them willing to take a ride.

Exploring the Linkage Between Accreditation Outcomes and Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response.

Public health emergency preparedness is a critical health department function. The national public health accreditation program may enhance public health preparedness by building the capabilities and overall capacity of health departments and also by improving capabilities specific to preparedness. This study presents findings from a survey sent to health departments 1 year after achieving accreditation, with a focus on accreditation outcomes related to public health preparedness.

Impact of Accreditation on Health Department Financial Resources.

Context: There is limited data available on the financial benefits of public health accreditation.

Objective: This study assessed the financial impacts reported by public health departments as a result of participating in the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) national accreditation program.

Design: Data from an ongoing survey of outcomes among health departments accredited for 1 year were linked to PHAB administrative data on health department characteristics to examine self-reported financial impacts of accreditation as of June 2020.

Factors Affecting Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices in Public Health Preparedness and Response.

Context: There is limited research on what factors are most salient to implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) among public health agencies in public health emergency preparedness and response (PHPR) and under what conditions EBP implementation will occur.

Objective: This study assessed the conditions, barriers, and enablers affecting EBP implementation among the PHPR practice community and identified opportunities to support EBP implementation.

Design: A Web-based survey gathered information from public health agencies.

Characteristics of ride share services for older adults in the United States.

Introduction: Safe and accessible transportation options are important for older adults' health, safety, mobility, and independence. Ride share services may promote older adult health and well-being. This is the first study that describes ride share services available to older adults (65+ years) in the United States, including factors that may affect use of services.

Benefits and Perceptions of Public Health Accreditation Among Health Departments Not Yet Applying.

Objective: To identify the benefits and perceptions among health departments not yet participating in the public health accreditation program implemented by the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB).

Design: Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered via Web-based surveys of health departments that had not yet applied for PHAB accreditation (nonapplicants) and health departments that had been accredited for 1 year.

Participants: Respondents from 150 nonapplicant health departments and 57 health departments that had been accredited for 1 year.

Quality Improvement and Performance Management Benefits of Public Health Accreditation: National Evaluation Findings.

Objective: To identify the quality improvement (QI) and performance management benefits reported by public health departments as a result of participating in the national, voluntary program for public health accreditation implemented by the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB).

Design: We gathered quantitative data via Web-based surveys of all applicant and accredited public health departments when they completed 3 different milestones in the PHAB accreditation process.

Participants: Leadership from 324 unique state, local, and tribal public health departments in the United States.

Identifying and Prioritizing Information Needs and Research Priorities of Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Practitioners.

Objective: This study describes findings from an assessment conducted to identify perceived knowledge gaps, information needs, and research priorities among state, territorial, and local public health preparedness directors and coordinators related to public health emergency preparedness and response (PHPR). The goal of the study was to gather information that would be useful for ensuring that future funding for research and evaluation targets areas most critical for advancing public health practice.

Methods: We implemented a mixed-methods approach to identify and prioritize PHPR research questions.

Evaluating the Impact of National Public Health Department Accreditation - United States, 2016.

In 2011, the nonprofit Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) launched the national, voluntary public health accreditation program for state, tribal, local, and territorial public health departments. As of May 2016, 134 health departments have achieved 5-year accreditation through PHAB and 176 more have begun the formal process of pursuing accreditation. In addition, Florida, a centralized state in which the employees of all 67 local health departments are employees of the state, achieved accreditation for the entire integrated local public health department system in the state.