PHAB Standards

Attachment D: PHAB Standards: An Overview

Public Health Accreditation Board

STANDARDS:

AN OVERVIEW

VERSION 1.5

Adopted December 2013

Public Health Accreditation Board

STANDARDS: AN OVERVIEW

DOMAIN 1:

ASSESS

Conduct and disseminate assessments focused on population health status and public health issues
facing the community

Standard 1.1: Participate in or Lead a Collaborative Process Resulting in a Comprehensive Community Health Assessment
Standard 1.2: Collect and Maintain Reliable, Comparable, and Valid Data that Provide Information on Conditions of Public

Health Importance and On the Health Status of the Population
Standard 1.3: Analyze Public Health Data to Identify Trends in Health Problems, Environmental Public Health Hazards, and

Social and Economic Factors that Affect the Public’s Health
Standard 1.4: Provide and Use the Results of Health Data Analysis to Develop Recommendations Regarding Public Health

Policy, Processes, Programs, or Interventions

DOMAIN 2:

INVESTIGATE

Investigate health problems and environmental public health hazards to protect the community

Standard 2.1: Conduct Timely Investigations of Health Problems and Environmental Public Health Hazards
Standard 2.2: Contain/Mitigate Health Problems and Environmental Public Health Hazards
Standard 2.3: Ensure Access to Laboratory and Epidemiologic/Environmental Public Health Expertise and Capacity to

Investigate and Contain/Mitigate Public Health Problems and Environmental Public Health Hazards
Standard 2.4: Maintain a Plan with Policies and Procedures for Urgent and Non-Urgent Communications

DOMAIN 3:

INFORM & EDUCATE

Inform and educate about public health issues and functions

Standard 3.1: Provide Health Education and Health Promotion Policies, Programs, Processes, and Interventions to Support

Prevention and Wellness
Standard 3.2: Provide Information on Public Health Issues and Public Health Functions Through Multiple Methods to a Variety

of Audiences

DOMAIN 4:

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Engage with the community to identify and address health problems

Standard 4.1: Engage with the Public Health System and the Community in Identifying and Addressing Health Problems through

Collaborative Processes
Standard 4.2: Promote the Community’s Understanding of and Support for Policies and Strategies that will Improve the Public’s Health

DOMAIN 5:

POLICIES & PLANS

Develop public health policies and plans

Standard 5.1: Serve as a Primary and Expert Resource for Establishing and Maintaining Public Health Policies, Practices, and Capacity
Standard 5.2: Conduct a Comprehensive Planning Process Resulting in a Tribal/State/Community Health Improvement Plan
Standard 5.3: Develop and Implement a Health Department Organizational Strategic Plan
Standard 5.4: Maintain an All Hazards Emergency Operations Plan

DOMAIN 6:

PUBLIC HEALTH LAWS
Enforce public health laws

Standard 6.1: Review Existing Laws and Work with Governing Entities and Elected/Appointed Officials to Update as Needed
Standard 6.2: Educate Individuals and Organizations on the Meaning, Purpose, and Benefit of Public Health Laws and How to Comply
Standard 6.3: Conduct and Monitor Public Health Enforcement Activities and Coordinate Notification of Violations among

Appropriate Agencies

VERSION 1.5

DOMAIN 7:

ACCESS TO CARE

Promote strategies to improve access to health care

Standard 7.1: Assess Health Care Service Capacity and Access to Health Care Services
Standard 7.2: Identify and Implement Strategies to Improve Access to Health Care Services

DOMAIN 8:

WORKFORCE

Maintain a competent public health workforce

Standard 8.1: Encourage the Development of a Sufficient Number of Qualified Public Health Workers
Standard 8.2: Ensure a Competent Workforce through Assessment of Staff Competencies, the Provision of Individual Training and

Professional Development, and the Provision of a Supportive Work Environment

DOMAIN 9:

QUALITY IMPROVMENT

Evaluate and continuously improve processes, programs, and interventions

Standard 9.1: Use a Performance Management System to Monitor Achievement of Organizational Objectives
Standard 9.2: Develop and Implement Quality Improvement Processes Integrated Into Organizational Practice, Programs,

Processes, and Interventions

EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES

DOMAIN 10: Contribute to and apply the evidence base of public health
Standard 10.1: Identify and Use the Best Available Evidence for Making Informed Public Health Practice Decisions
Standard 10.2: Promote Understanding and Use of the Current Body of Research Results, Evaluations, and Evidence-Based

Practices with Appropriate Audiences

ADMINSTRATION & MANAGEMENT

DOMAIN 11: Maintain administrative and management capacity
Standard 11.1: Develop and Maintain an Operational Infrastructure to Support the Performance of Public Health Functions
Standard 11.2: Establish Effective Financial Management Systems

GOVERNANCE

DOMAIN 12: Maintain capacity to engage the public health governing entity
Standard 12.1: Maintain Current Operational Definitions and Statements of the Public Health Roles, Responsibilities, and Authorities
Standard 12.2: Provide Information to the Governing Entity Regarding Public Health and the Official Responsibilities of the Health

Department and of the Governing Entity
Standard 12.3: Encourage the Governing Entity’s Engagement In the Public Health Department’s Overall Obligations

and Responsibilities

The PHAB STANDARDS apply to all health departments—Tribal, state, local, and territorial. Standards are the
required level of achievement that a health department is expected to meet. Domains are groups of standards that
pertain to a broad group of public health services. The focus of the PHAB standards is “what” the health department
provides in services and activities, irrespective of “how” they are provided or through what organizational structure.
Please refer to the PHAB Standards and Measures Version 1.5 document, available at www.phaboard.org, for the
full official standards, measures, required documentation, and guidance.

VERSION 1.5

PUBLIC HEALTH ACCREDITATION BOARD
1600 Duke Street, Suite 200
Alexandria, VA 22314
T: 703.778.4549
F: 703.778.4556

www.phaboard.org

This publication was supported through grant funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and Cooperative
Agreement #1U900T000228-01 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Its contents are solely the
responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the CDC or RWJF.

Copyright © 2014 Public Health Accreditation Board. All rights reserved.