title: Local Public Health Department Characteristics Associated With Likelihood to Participate in National Accreditation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We examined factors associated with completing, initiating, or intending to pursue voluntary national accreditation among local health departments (LHDs).
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined National Association of County and City Health Officials 2010 and 2013 profile data in a pooled cross-sectional design with bivariate and multivariable regression analyses. We conducted individual multivariable models with interest in accreditation and likely to accredit as outcome variables, comparing changes between 2010 and 2013.
  
  
  RESULTS
  LHDs with formal quality improvement programs are significantly more likely to have initiated or completed the accreditation process (odds ratio [OR] = 7.99; confidence interval [CI] = 1.79, 35.60), to be likely to accredit (OR = 2.41; CI = 1.65, 3.50), or to report an interest in accreditation (OR = 2.32; CI = 1.67, 3.20). Interest was lower among LHDs in 2013 than in 2010 (OR = 0.56; CI = 0.41, 0.77); however, there was no difference regarding being likely to accredit. LHDs with a high number of full-time equivalent employees were more likely to indicate being likely to accredit or interest in accreditation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Quality improvement may facilitate the accreditation process or be a proxy measure for an unmeasurable LHD attribute that predicts accreditation.
authors.affiliation: Valerie A. Yeager is with the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA. Alva O. Ferdinand is with the Texas A&M Health Science Center and School of Public Health, College Station, TX. Leslie M. Beitsch is with the Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee. Nir Menachemi is with the University of Alabama, Birmingham School of Public Health, Birmingham.
authors.forename: Valerie A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Yeager
authors.affiliation: Valerie A. Yeager is with the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA. Alva O. Ferdinand is with the Texas A&M Health Science Center and School of Public Health, College Station, TX. Leslie M. Beitsch is with the Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee. Nir Menachemi is with the University of Alabama, Birmingham School of Public Health, Birmingham.
authors.forename: Alva O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Ferdinand
authors.affiliation: Valerie A. Yeager is with the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA. Alva O. Ferdinand is with the Texas A&M Health Science Center and School of Public Health, College Station, TX. Leslie M. Beitsch is with the Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee. Nir Menachemi is with the University of Alabama, Birmingham School of Public Health, Birmingham.
authors.forename: Leslie M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Beitsch
authors.affiliation: Valerie A. Yeager is with the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA. Alva O. Ferdinand is with the Texas A&M Health Science Center and School of Public Health, College Station, TX. Leslie M. Beitsch is with the Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee. Nir Menachemi is with the University of Alabama, Birmingham School of Public Health, Birmingham.
authors.forename: Nir
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Menachemi
mesh_terms: D000068:Accreditation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D009111:Local Government; D011634:Public Health / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011635:Public Health Administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D058996:Quality Improvement / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States