Question | Answer |
Accredidation | The development of a set of standards, a process to measure health department performance against those standards, and reward or recognition for those health departments who meet the standards |
Aim Statement | A concise, specific written statement that defines what the team hopes to accomplish with its QI efforts. It includes a numerical measure for the future target, it is time specific and measurable, and it defines the specific population that will be affect |
Affinity Diagram | An interactive data collection which allows people to identify and sort large quantities of ideas in a short time |
Assessment | A systematic process of collecting and analyzing data to determine the current, historical, or projected compliance of an organization to a standard |
Baseline Measurement | The beginning point, based on an evaluation of output over a period of time, used to determine the process parameters prior to and improvement effort; the basis against which chance is measured |
Benchmarking | A technique in which a company measures its performance against that of best in class companies, determines how those companies achieved their performance levels, and uses this information to improve its own performance. |
Best Practice | A superior method or innovative practice that contributes to the improved performance of an organization usually recognized as best by other peer organizations |
Bias | Degree to which your data are inaccurate due to the way you took your measurement |
Brainstorming | A technique teams use to generate ideas on ca particular subject. Each person on the team is asked to think creatively and write down as manty ideas as possible. The ideas are not discussed or reviewed until after the brainstorming session. |
Cause and Effect Diagram | A tool for analyzing process dispersion. It is also referred to as the "Ishikawa diagram". Also the Fishbone Diagram. One of the 'Seven tools of Quality" |
Centerline | A line on a graph that represents overall average mean operating level of the process |
Checklist | A tool for ensuring all important steps or actions in an operation have been taken. Checklists contain items important or relevant to an issue or situation. Checklists are often confused with check sheets. |
Check Sheet | A simple data recording device. The check sheet is custom designed by the user which allows for them to readily interpret the results The checksheet is one of the ":seven tools of quality" |
Client | The party for which professional services are rendered or the person using the services of social agency. A customer or patron. |
Common Cause Variation | Causes of variation that are inherent in a process over time. They are natural parts of a process or system and affect every outcome of the process and everyone working in the process. |
Completeness | Having all the data you need to answer your questions, including data that might challenge your conclusions to repeatedly achieve customer satisfaction. |
Continuous Improvement (CI) | A philosophy and attitude for analyzing capabilities and processes and improving them repeatedly to achieve customer satisfaction. |
Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) | An integrative process that links knowledge, structures, processes, and outcomes to enhance quality through and organization The intent is to improve the level of performance of key processes and outcomes. |
Control Charts | A tool used to identify and distinguish the common and special causes of variation in a process of system |
Correlation (statistical) | A measure of the relationship between two data sets of variables |
Culture Change | A major shift in the attitudes, norms, sentiments, beliefs, values, operating principles, and behavior of an organization |
Customer (External) | A person or organization that receives a product, service, or information but is not part of the organization supplying it |
Customer (Internal) | A person or organization that recieves a product, service, or information and is part of the organization supplying it |
Cycle | A sequence of operations repeated regularly |
Data | Factual information, especially information organized for analysis or used to reason or make decisions. A set of controlled facts. May be defined as documented measurements ore observations |
Deming Cycle | Another term for PSDA cycle. Walter Shewhart Created it but Demmings made it popular |
Deviation | In numerical datasets, the difference or distance of an individual observation or data value from the center point (often mean) of the set distribution |
Effect | The result of an action being taken; the expected or predicted important when an action is to be taken or is proposed |
Effectiveness | The state of having produced a decided on or desired effect |
Efficiancy | The ratio of output to the total input in a process |
Evaluation (Program) | A systematic collection of information about the activities, characteristics, and outcomes of programs to make judgement about the program or improve program effectiveness. A tool for making informed decisions about future program development |
Fishbone Diagram | Cause and Effect diagram |
Flowchart | process map |
Forcefield Analysis | A way of organizing ideas to help identify the forces and factors in place that support or work against the solution of an issue or problem |
Gantt Chart | A type of bar chart used in process planning and control to display planned and finished work in relation to time |
Goal | A broad statement describing a desired future condition or achievement without being specific about how and when |
Histogram | The most commonly used graph for showing frequency distributions, or how often each different value in a set of data occurs. This is a numerical tool and one of the 'seven tools of quality improvement |
Improvement | The positive effect of a procces chance effort |
Indicators | Established measures to determine how well an organization is meeting its customer's needs and other operational and financial performance expectations |
inputs | the products, services, and materials obtained from suppliers to produce the outputs delivered to customers |
Iterative | characterized by or involved repuation |
Lean | An operational strategy oriented toward achieving the shortest possible cycle time by eliminating waste. Its key thrust is to increase the value-added work by eliminating waste and reducing incidental work. |
Logic Model | A picture displaying the underlying logic behind a program, connecting inputs to outputs and outcomes |
Matrix | A chart to assist in systematically identifying analyzing, and rating the presence and strength of relationships between two or more sets of information |
Mean | A measure of central Tendency. The arithmetic average of all measurements in a dataset |
Measure | The criteria, metric, or means to which a comparison is made with output |
Measurement | The act or process of quantitatively comparing results with requirements. |
Median | The middle number or center value of a set of data in which all the data are arranged in sequence |
Methodology | An organized, documented set of procedures and guidelines for one or more phases or a research study, such as analysis or deisgn |
Operational Definition of a functional Local Health Department | A set of 45 standards developed by the NACCHO with input form public health professionals and elected officials from across the country. The standards are based on the Ten Essential Public Health Services and described the responsibilities that ev |
Organizational Performance | Ability of an organization to meet its goal and achieve its mission. Performance can be gauged in terms of four key indicators: effectiveness, efficiency, relevance. priorities. |
Organizational Capacity | The ability of an organization to carry out the essential public health services and, in particular, to provide specific services, such as disease surveillance, community education, or clinical screening. This ability is made possible by specific |
Outcome Evaluation | Focuses on the systematic collection of information to assess the impact of a project (outcomes). Addresses questions related to the impact or end result due to a process of logical decision making. |
Pareto Chart | A numerical tool that illustrates the factors that are most significant on a bar graph. It is one of the "seven tools of quality" |
PDSA / Demming Cycle | Plan do study act continuous cycle |
Process Evaluation | Focuses on the Implementation and operation of a project (process). Process evaluation addresses questions, which relate to whether the project was implementedas planned, whether there were changes to the project plan, and if so, why those changes ocured |
Qualitative Data | Data Composed of words providing in-depths, contextualized, and measuring-driven descriptions of anything from an individual experience to a community's history |
Quality Improvement | QI in public health is the use of a deliberate and defined improvement process, such as PDSA, which is focused on activities that are responsive to community needs and improving population health. It refers to a continuous and ongoing effort to achieve |
Quantitative Data | Data that is measured or identified numerically and can be analyzed using statistical methods |
Rapid Cycle Improvement (RCI) | Based on PDSA- four steps set the aim (goal), define the measures (expected outcome), make changes (action plan), and test changes (solution). |
Reliability | The extent to which one same measure or the same study would have the same result if it were repeated |
Repeatability | The variation in measurement obtained when one measurement device is usedseveral times by the same person to measure the same characteristic |
Run Chart | A chart showing a line connecting numerous data points collected from a process running over time. |
Sample Size | The number of units in a sample |
Scatter Diagram | Graphs pairs of numerical data, one variable on each axis, to look for a relationship. It is one of the "seven tools of quality" |
Six Sigma | A method that provides an organization with tools to improve the capability of their business processes. This increase in performance and decrease in process variation lead to defect reduction and improvement in profits, employee morale, and quality of |
S.M.A.R.T. | Acronym used to ensure evaluation and research objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound |
Special Causes (variation) | Causes of Variation that arise because of special circumstances. They are not inherent part of a process. Special causes are also referred to as assignable causes. |
Stakeholder | Any individual, group, or organization, that will leave a significant impact on or will be significantly impacted by the quality of a specific product or service |
Standard | The metric, specification , gauge, statement, category, segment, grouping, behavior, event, or physical product sample against which the outputs of a process are compared and declared acceptable or unacceptable |
Standard Deviation | A computed measure of variability indicating the spread of the dataset around the mean |
Story board | Graphic representations of an organization's quality improvement journey. A QI story board is a visual depiction of the team's story, beginning at the 'plan' phase and ending at the 'act' phase. It can be updated continually throughout PDSA cycle |
Stretch Standard | A standard designed to position an organization to meet future requirements |
Survey | The act of examining a process or questioning a selected sample of individuals to obtain data about a process, product, or service |
Target Population | Observable or measurable elements, sampling units, or subjects that will be studied to determine chance and the desired outcome |
Team | A group of individuals organized to work together to accomplish a specific objective |
Theory | An explanation for known facts or phenomena |
Timeline | A schedule or timetable for completing the PDSA Cycle of quality improvement |
Validity | Whether you are really measuring what you intent to measure |
Variation | A change in data, characteristic, or function by one of four factors: special causes, common causes, tampering, or structural variation |