- Program of Study
Explore the AccrediQI Academy Curriculum
- How it works
AccrediQI Academy Program of Study
The AccrediQI Academy Program of Study is delivered through self-paced, fully online courses designed to make accreditation learning practical, manageable, and directly applicable to public health practice. Each course includes approximately one hour of video instruction, organized into 5–10 focused lessons, followed by a 10–20 question knowledge assessment.
Every course also includes a practice exercise for learners who want to apply what they have learned. These exercises are mandatory only for participants pursuing AccrediQI Academy certification and move beyond hypothetical assignments: learners adapt provided templates to develop actual, usable documentation for their own health department, such as standard operating procedures (SOPs), plans, data analyses, visualizations, and reports. In this way, certification demonstrates not only knowledge of accreditation requirements, but the ability to translate those requirements into practice.
- The framework
The Five Pillars of Accreditation & Performance Excellence
AccrediQI Academy is organized around five interconnected capabilities that move professionals and organizations from understanding accreditation requirements to building durable systems for performance excellence. The program begins with accreditation knowledge, develops the leadership systems needed to organize the accreditation journey, builds applied quality-improvement capability, strengthens the ability to lead and sustain organizational change, and culminates in advanced value-based care and performance optimization.
- Tier 1
- Core
Mastering PHAB Initial Accreditation Standards
Tier 1 builds practical accreditation knowledge across the ten PHAB domains. Learners move beyond memorizing requirements to understanding the intent of standards and measures, recognizing acceptable evidence, and connecting accreditation requirements to sound public health practice. Domain-specific courses allow staff to focus on the standards most relevant to their roles.
- T1C1
Domain 1: Assess and Monitor Population Health
Purpose. Develop practical mastery of the population-health data cycle, from Community Health Assessment and primary data collection through data sharing, analysis, communication, and use of findings for public health action.
Target audience. Epidemiologists; data analysts; emergency preparedness staff; public health nurses; environmental health staff; professionals involved in Community Health Assessment development.
- T1C1-L01 — Overview of Domain 1: Assess and Monitor Population Health
- T1C1-L03 — Measure 1.1.1: Develop a Comprehensive Community Health Assessment
- T1C1-L05 — Measure 1.2.1: Collect Non-Surveillance Population Health Data
- T1C1-L06b — Measure 1.2.2: Data Sharing and Interoperability — State Health Departments
- T1C1-L02 — Standard 1.1: Introduction to Development of the Community Health Assessment
- T1C1-L04 — Measure 1.1.2: Ensure the Community Health Assessment Is Accessible and Used to Improve Population Health
- T1C1-L06 — Measure 1.2.2: Participate in Data Sharing — Local and Tribal Health Departments
- T1C1-L07 — Standard 1.3: Analyze Data, Share Findings, and Use Results to Improve Population Health
- T1C2
Domain 2: Investigate and Address Health Hazards and Root Causes
Purpose. Build competency in surveillance, investigation, laboratory coordination, emergency response, and collaborative action to identify, investigate, and address public health threats.
Target audience. Epidemiologists; emergency preparedness and operations staff; public health nurses; environmental health staff; communications staff.
- L01 — Measure 2.1.1: Establish Protocols for Surveillance Systems
- L03 — Measure 2.1.3: Maintain Access to Resources for Public Health Emergency Control
- L05 — Investigation Protocols and Procedures
- L07 — State Support for Local and Tribal Investigations
- L02 — Measure 2.1.2: Analyze and Use Surveillance Data
- L04 — Laboratory Protocols for Public Health Investigations
- L06 — Collaborative Response Actions
- L08 — Public Health Emergency Operations
- T1C3
Domain 3: Communicate Effectively
Purpose. Learn how health departments build communication systems that support routine public health practice, establish a recognizable public identity, use digital communication effectively, and develop audience-centered health communication strategies.
Target audience. Health promotion and education staff; communications staff; public health nurses.
- L01 — Measure 3.1.1: Non-Emergency Communication Protocols
- L03 — Measure 3.1.3: Use Digital Communication Effectively
- L02 — Measure 3.1.2: Public Health Branding and Identity
- L04 — Measure 3.2.1: Develop Audience-Centered Health Communication Strategies
- T1C4
Domain 4: Strengthen, Support, and Mobilize Communities and Partnerships
Purpose. Develop the skills to identify, engage, and sustain strategic partnerships and meaningfully involve community members in public health assessment, planning, decision-making, and action.
Target audience. Health promotion and education staff; communications staff; public health nurses.
- L01 — Measure 4.1.1: Develop and Sustain Strategic Partnerships
- L02 — Measure 4.1.2: Engage Community Members in Public Health
- T1C5
Domain 5: Create, Champion, and Implement Policies, Plans, and Laws
Purpose. Connect public health evidence and community priorities to policy action and coordinated population-health improvement planning.
Target audience. Health promotion and education staff; environmental health staff; management; government relations staff.
- L01 — Measure 5.1.1: Advance and Inform Public Policy
- L02 — Standard 5.2: Develop and Implement the Community Health Improvement Plan
- T1C6
Domain 6: Utilize Legal and Regulatory Actions
Purpose. Understand how health departments demonstrate appropriate use of regulatory authority, document enforcement activities, promote compliance, and use quality improvement to strengthen regulatory programs.
Target audience. Environmental health and regulatory staff.
- L01 — Measure 6.1.1: Document and Apply Enforcement Actions
- L02 — Measure 6.1.2: Use Quality Improvement to Strengthen Compliance and Regulatory Practice
- T1C7
Domain 7: Assure an Effective System That Enables Equitable Access to Health Services
Purpose. Build competency in assessing access to health services, identifying gaps and barriers, strengthening connections to care, and working with partners to improve access and population health outcomes.
Target audience. Public health nurses; primary care liaisons; access-to-care and population health staff.
- L01 — Standard 7.1: Assess and Strengthen Access to Health Care Services
- T1C8
Domain 8: Build and Support a Diverse and Skilled Public Health Workforce
Purpose. Learn how to assess workforce capacity, develop workforce plans, strengthen human-resource practices, support professional development, and demonstrate systems required to sustain a capable public health workforce.
Target audience. Human resources staff; managers; workforce development leads.
- L01 — Measure 8.1: Assess and Support the Public Health Workforce
- L03 — Measure 8.2.2: Strengthen Human Resource Policies and Practices
- L02 — Measure 8.2.1: Develop and Maintain a Workforce Development Plan
- L04 — Measure 8.2.3: State Support for Tribal and Local Public Health Workforce Development
- T1C9
Domain 9: Improve and Innovate Through Evaluation, Research, and Continuous Quality Improvement
Purpose. Understand PHAB expectations for performance management, quality improvement, evidence-informed practice, innovation, and organizational learning.
Target audience. Quality improvement staff; data analysts; epidemiologists; health promotion staff.
- L01 — Measure 9.1.1: Establish and Use a Performance Management System
- L03 — Measure 9.1.5: State Support for Tribal and Local Performance Management and Quality Improvement
- L02 — Measures 9.1.2–9.1.4: Build and Demonstrate Quality Improvement
- L04 — Standard 9.2: Advance Evidence-Informed Practice and Innovation
- T1C10
Domain 10: Build and Maintain a Strong Organizational Infrastructure for Public Health
Purpose. Understand the organizational infrastructure that enables sustainable public health performance, including strategic planning, administrative capacity, financial and information systems, and governance.
Target audience. Information technology staff; finance staff; administrative and operations staff; management.
- L01 — Standard 10.1: Strategic Planning
- L03 — Standard 10.3: Governance
- L02 — Standard 10.2: Administrative Capacity
- Tier 2
- Part elective
Leading the Accreditation Program
Tier 2 translates knowledge of PHAB standards into the practical leadership capability required to manage accreditation as an organizational program. Learners assess readiness, establish governance and ownership, build reliable evidence-management systems, manage milestones and accountability, and prepare the organization for submission, review, and continuous readiness.
- T2C1
Assess Accreditation Readiness
Purpose. Conduct a structured organizational readiness assessment, identify evidence gaps, prioritize deficiencies, determine responsible programs, and convert findings into an actionable accreditation roadmap.
Target audience. Mandatory for accreditation coordinators; elective for other learners.
- L01 — Introduction to the Accreditation Readiness Assessment Tool
- L02 — Applying the Readiness Assessment to Your Health Department
- T2C2
Build the Accreditation Program
Purpose. Establish accreditation governance, define roles and responsibilities, identify documentation owners, organize multidisciplinary teams, establish accountability, and create an implementation structure.
- Target audience. Elective.
- L01 — Establish the Accreditation Leadership Team
- L03 — Engage Department Units and Domain Documentation Owners
- L02 — Establish the Accreditation Steering Committee
- T2C3
Build a PHAB-Ready Documentation System
Purpose. Establish document inventories, naming conventions, version control, evidence-review workflows, documentation repositories, gap tracking, and quality-assurance processes for accreditation evidence.
- Target audience. Elective.
- L01 — Establish a Document Control Process
- L03 — Organize, Store, and Retrieve Accreditation Evidence
- L02 — Evaluate Documentation for PHAB Eligibility and Quality
- T2C4
Manage the Accreditation Journey
Purpose. Apply project- and program-management principles to milestones, dependencies, risks, communications, leadership reporting, staff engagement, and organizational accountability throughout the accreditation process.
- Target audience. Elective.
- L01 — Develop and Maintain an Accreditation Tracking System
- L03 — Manage Risks, Dependencies, and Escalations
- L02 — Communicate Milestones and Expectations to Documentation Owners
- L04 — Provide Performance Feedback to Leadership, Documentation Owners, and Stakeholders
- T2C5
Prepare for Submission, Site Visit, and Continuous Readiness
Purpose. Move from documentation completion through final quality review, submission, site-visit preparation, corrective follow-up, and systems for maintaining readiness after the accreditation decision.
- Target audience. Elective.
- L01 — Prepare Documentation for Submission
- L03 — Manage Submission Timelines and Final Quality Review
- L05 — Maintain Continuous Accreditation Readiness
- L02 — Work Effectively with the PHAB Education Specialist/Coordinator
- L04 — Prepare Staff and Leadership for the Site Visit
- Tier 3
- Part elective
Applied Quality Improvement & Performance Excellence
Tier 3 builds the practical capability to manage quality as an organizational system and lead improvement from problem identification through sustained results. The curriculum integrates systems thinking, improvement science, team-based problem solving, measurement, Model for Improvement, Lean, Six Sigma, and the transition from successful improvement to ongoing quality assurance.
- T3C1
Foundations of Quality Management & Improvement Science
Purpose. Distinguish quality planning, quality control and performance management, and quality improvement; understand how organizational strategy generates improvement priorities; and establish the systems-thinking and human factors foundations of improvement.
- Target audience. Elective.
- L01 — The Pursuit of Quality Through Continuous Learning
- L03 — Quality Management Systems: Planning, Control, and Improvement
- L02 — Systems Thinking
- T3C2
Governance for Quality Improvement
Purpose. Build the leadership and governance structures needed to select priorities, sponsor improvement, remove barriers, monitor progress, and sustain organizational accountability for quality.
- Target audience. Elective.
- L01 — Establish a Quality Improvement Steering Committee
- L02 — Define Sponsorship, Governance, and Accountability for Improvement
- T3C3
Choosing an Improvement Model
Purpose. Compare major improvement approaches and select a methodology that fits the performance problem. Understand where Lean, Six Sigma, and the Model for Improvement overlap and where each adds distinct value.
- Target audience. Elective.
- L01 — Lean: Flow, Waste, and Process Efficiency
- L03 — The Model for Improvement: Aims, Measures, Change Ideas, and PDSA
- L02 — Six Sigma: Variation, Defects, and Process Reliability
- L04 — Choosing the Right Improvement Approach
- T3C4
Lead the Improvement Process
Purpose. Lead a multidisciplinary team through a complete improvement cycle: define the problem, diagnose root causes, establish aims and measures, design solutions, test change, and learn from results. Paired with T1C9-L02, Measures 9.1.2–9.1.4.
- Target audience. Mandatory for accreditation coordinators; elective for other learners.
- L01 — Build and Lead an Improvement Team
- L03 — Conduct Root-Cause Analysis
- L05 — Design Solutions and Build a Theory of Change
- L02 — Define and Diagnose Performance Problems
- L04 — Set Aims and Build an Improvement Measurement System
- L06 — Test Change Using Plan-Do-Study-Act
- T3C5
Analyze Performance Over Time
Purpose. Use performance data to distinguish meaningful change from routine variation and transition successful improvement work into reliable quality control and ongoing monitoring.
- Target audience. Elective.
- L01 — Analyze Performance Over Time
- L02 — Transition from Improvement to Quality Control and Monitoring
- T3C6
Implement, Sustain, and Spread Improvement
Purpose. Move successful changes into routine operations, standardize the change package, establish ownership and controls, and plan for sustainability and spread.
- Target audience. Elective.
- L01 — Institutionalize the Change Package
- L02 — Build a Sustainability and Spread Plan
- T3C7
Assess and Strengthen a Culture of Improvement
Purpose. Assess the organizational conditions that support continuous improvement and use findings to strengthen leadership, workforce engagement, learning, accountability, and improvement infrastructure.
- Target audience. Elective.
- L01 — Introduction to the Culture of Improvement Assessment
- L02 — Apply the Assessment and Build an Improvement-Culture Action Plan
- Tier 4
- Elective
Leading Change & Organizational Transformation
Tier 4 addresses the human and organizational side of improvement. Using Kotter as the core leadership framework, supported by Lewin’s Unfreeze–Change–Refreeze model and ADKAR as complementary lenses, learners diagnose the nature of change, assess readiness, mobilize stakeholders, address resistance, communicate effectively, implement change, and institutionalize new ways of working.
- T4C1
Foundations of Organizational Change
Purpose. Understand why organizations must adapt, distinguish evolutionary from revolutionary change, and recognize how the scale and nature of change shape the leadership approach required.
- Target audience. Elective.
- L01 — Organizational Entropy and the Need for Realignment
- L02 — Evolutionary vs. Revolutionary Change
- T4C2
Change Models and the AccrediQI Change Architecture
Purpose. Use established change models as practical lenses. Apply Lewin’s Unfreeze–Change–Refreeze model as the macro-architecture, Kotter as the core leadership roadmap, and ADKAR as a complementary individual-adoption lens.
- Target audience. Elective.
- L01 — Lewin: Unfreeze, Change, Refreeze
- L03 — ADKAR and Individual Adoption
- L02 — Kotter's Eight Steps for Leading Change
- T4C3
Unfreeze the Organization and Lead Change Using Kotter
Purpose. Prepare the organization to leave the current state by diagnosing what must change, assessing readiness, and understanding stakeholder influence, interests, and likely responses. Apply Kotter’s eight steps as a practical roadmap for creating urgency, building a coalition, forming and communicating a vision, enabling action, generating wins, sustaining acceleration, and anchoring change.
- Target audience. Elective.
- L01 — Create a Sense of Urgency
- L03 — Form the Change Vision
- L05 — Remove Barriers to Change
- L07 — Sustain Acceleration
- L02 — Build the Guiding Coalition
- L04 — Mobilize People Around the Vision
- L06 — Generate and Communicate Short-Term Wins
- L08 — Make the Change Part of How We Work
- T4C4
Understand and Address Resistance to Change
Purpose. Treat resistance as information to be diagnosed rather than merely overcome. Identify the source and influence of resistance and match the response to the underlying barrier.
- Target audience. Elective.
- L01 — Why People Resist Change
- L03 — Select Strategies for Addressing Resistance
- L02 — Diagnose Resistance
- Tier 5
- Elective
Value-Based Care Quality & Performance Optimization
Tier 5 is an advanced professional-practice pathway rather than a PHAB accreditation course. It prepares learners to understand value-based care arrangements, interpret quality measures and performance methodologies, integrate EHR and claims data, identify high-value improvement priorities, facilitate measure-level gap closure, and translate quality performance into executive decision support and incentive optimization.
- T5C1
Foundations of Value-Based Care and Risk Contracting
Purpose. Understand the shift from volume to value, major payment models, accountable care structures, and the basic mechanics of risk contracts across Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial payers.
- Target audience. Elective.
- L01 — Overview of Value-Based Care
- L03 — Accountable Care Organizations
- L02 — Payment Models and the Quality–Financial Performance Connection
- L04 — Risk Contracts: Medicare, Medicaid, and Commercial Payers
- T5C2
Understanding Quality Measures, HEDIS, and Patient Experience
Purpose. Build working knowledge of HEDIS and other quality measures, patient-experience measures, and health-equity considerations that influence performance under value-based arrangements.
- Target audience. Elective.
- L01 — Understanding HEDIS Measures
- L03 — Health Equity Foundations in Quality Measurement
- L02 — CAHPS and Other Patient-Experience Measures
- T5C3
From Quality Score to Incentive Payment
Purpose. Understand how measure performance is translated into quality scores and how scoring, benchmarks, thresholds, and contract methodology can affect incentive payments.
- Target audience. Elective.
- L01 — How Quality Scores Are Calculated and Interpreted
- L03 — Optimize Incentive Opportunity Without Losing Sight of Outcomes
- L02 — Connect Quality Performance to Incentive Payment Methodology
- T5C4
Data for Value-Based Performance
Purpose. Use EHR, claims, and other performance data to establish baselines, identify care gaps, examine equity, and prioritize improvement opportunities based on impact and value.
- Target audience. Elective.
- L01 — Electronic Health Record Data
- L03 — Establish Performance Baselines
- L05 — Build the Rationale for Gap-Closure Priorities
- L02 — Claims and Administrative Data
- L04 — Identify Priorities for Improvement
- L06 — Analyze Performance Through a Health-Equity Lens
- T5C5
Facilitate Measure-Level Quality Improvement
Purpose. Partner with clinical and operational teams to translate performance gaps into focused improvement work, select interventions, track progress, and close care gaps.
- Target audience. Elective.
- L01 — Work with Clinical Teams to Close Performance Gaps
- L03 — Monitor Gap Closure and Adapt the Improvement Strategy
- L02 — Design Measure-Level Improvement Interventions
- T5C6
Performance Reporting & Executive Decision Support
Purpose. Create dashboards and reporting routines that make performance visible, provide actionable feedback to clinical teams, and support executive and stakeholder decision-making.
- Target audience. Elective.
- L01 — Build Performance Dashboards
- L03 — Report Performance to Executives, Payers, and Other Stakeholders
- L02 — Provide Performance Feedback to Clinical Teams
- Begin
Your Path to Accreditation Excellence Starts Here
Whether you need to strengthen a specific competency for your current role or are ready to pursue a professional credential, AccrediQI lets you choose the learning path that fits your goals. Select individual courses that align with your role, responsibilities, or immediate practice needs. Learn at your own pace and apply practical tools, templates, and methods directly in your work.