title: Standardizing environmental health processes at the Iowa Department of Public Health.
abstract: Standardized work is the foundation of continuous improvement. Documenting standard processes is a precursor to problem solving and allows an organization to understand work flow, measure performance, and identify opportunities for improvement. Environmental health is an important function of public health departments but is rarely studied systematically. This article describes documentation of standard processes, identification of improvement opportunities, and lessons learned for environmental health processes at the Iowa Department of Public Health, using a pilot group of 3 local county offices. The approach described in this article can serve as a template for other states to follow in their quality improvement journeys.
authors.affiliation: Public Health Leadership Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Rohit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ramaswamy
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Segal
authors.forename: Joy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: Greg D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Randolph
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cornett
authors.forename: Lisa Macon
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: C Suzanne
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Lea
mesh_terms: D004282:Documentation; D004782:Environmental Health; D006077:Government Agencies; D006801:Humans; D007484:Iowa; D011635:Public Health Administration; D015980:Public Health Practice / Q000592:standards*; D012424:Rural Population; D013219:State Government; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000379:methods