Many industries commonly use quality improvement
(QI) techniques to improve service delivery and process
performance. Yet, there has been scarce application
of these proven methods to public health settings and the public
health field has not developed a set of shared principles or a
common definition for quality improvement. This article
discusses a definition of quality improvement in public health
and describes a continuum of quality improvement applications
for public health departments. Quality improvement is a distinct
management process and set of tools and techniques that are
coordinated to ensure that departments consistently meet the
health needs of their communities