Small public health departments in the US struggle to apply for accreditation

What is it about?

By the end of 2019, only 8% of local health departments serving small communities in the US had applied for accreditation. Of all local health departments that had not applied for accreditation, 60% of them served small communities. The biggest barrier to applying was that accreditation standards exceeded the agency's capacity.

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Photo by Brandon Green on Unsplash

Photo by Brandon Green on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Health department accreditation helps to transform the U.S. public health system by promoting a foundational set of standards and supporting performance improvement. However, agencies serving small communities are missing out given the impracticalities of the application process.