Table 2.

Relationship of Public Health Agency (PHA) Core Functions and Essential Services to Essential Characteristics of a Learning Public Health System (LPHS) and Selected Public Health Board Accreditation (PHAB) Requirements

Core Functions, Essentials Services, and Organizational Culture (major data components included where applicable)	Essential Characteristics of a Learning Public Health System (LPHS)	Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB): Data Intensive Requirements for Meeting Accreditation Standards
I. Assessment
1. Monitor health status to identify and solve community health problems (data Intensive and involving epidemiologic research skills).	In-time access to knowledge.9 Digital capture of data.10	Community Health Assessment (CHA): Learn health status of community, identify areas for health improvement, including special populations and contributing causes of health issues.
2. Diagnose and investigate health problems and hazards in the community (requires data and research skills).
II. Policy Development
3. Inform, educate, and empower people about health issues (PHA working collaboratively with the community sharing and interpreting data).	Full transparency: monitors context, community characteristics, quality processes, etc.—and makes information available to communities.11
4. Mobilize community partnerships and action to identify and solve health problems (PHA working collaboratively with the community in data analysis and its interpretation).	Engaged and empowered communities: anchored on community needs and promoting community inclusion as part of LPHS team.12	Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP): Plan for working together with community to improve health of the populations, including policy changes needed to achieve objectives.
5. Develop policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts. (PHA working collaboratively with the community in planning and policy analysis using data).	Supportive system competencies: complex community intervention operations are constantly being refined through team training and skill building, systems analysis and information development, and creation of feedback loops for continuous learning and system improvement.13	Health Department Strategic Plan (HDSP) Plan for 3–5 years with strategic priorities, goals, measurable objectives, defined time frame, link to CHIP, and quality improvement (QI) plan
III. Assurance
6. Enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety.
7. Link people to personal health services and ensure the provision of health care when it is otherwise not available.
8. Assure competent public and personal health care workforce (training of workforce).	Supportive team competencies: “team training and skill building, systems analysis, and information development.”14
9. Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-based health services (data intensive with strong analytics).	Incentives aligned for value; incentives encourage continuous improvement, minimize waste, and promote value.15
10. Research for new insights and innovative solutions for health problems (may be data intensive, and requires research skills).
Public Health Agency (PHA) Organizational Culture (leadership builds a culture of continuous learning in the public health system and PHA).	Leadership-instilled culture of learning: leadership commitment to a culture of teamwork, collaboration, and adaptability in support of continuous learning as a core aim.16	PHA accreditation reinforces key organizational goals and builds organizational capacity to identify community health problems; work with community to develop and implement a quality improvement (QI) plan, and to evaluate the effects of QI improvement on population health outcomes.