3. Local Public Health System Assessment (LPHSA)

The Local Public Health System Assessment (LPHSA) answers the questions, "What are the components, activities, competencies, and capacities of our local public health system?" and "How are the Essential Services being provided to our community?"

This assessment involves the use of a nationally recognized tool called the National Public Health Performance Standards Local Instrument. The section below will provide you with basic information about conducting this assessment; however, much more in-depth guidance is available through the National Public Health Performance Standard Program.

LPHSA Highlights

The LPHSA is a broad assessment, involving all of the organizations and entities that contribute to public health in the community.

Recommended Participants and Roles:

Subcommittee—designs and prepares for the LPHSA process and ensures that the process is implemented effectively.
MAPP Committee—participates in all discussions.
Broad community involvement—should already be incorporated into the committee membership; however, if additional participants are desired for this process, they should be recruited.

Overview of the Steps for the LPHSA:

Prepare for the LPHSA by establishing a subcommittee and planning how the activities will be undertaken.
Orient the MAPP Committee (and other participants) to the Essential Services. Begin by discussing what the Essential Services are and how they are being provided within the community. Using flip charts, all participants should identify the Essential Services provided by their organizations. Discuss the results by identifying where various organizations' activities fit together and where gaps exist.
Complete the performance measures instrument. Discuss each model standard and come to consensus on responses for all objective and Likert scale questions.
Discuss the results of the performance measures instrument by reviewing each indicator. Through dialogue, identify areas that need improvement, activities that should be maintained at current levels, and areas where efforts can be decreased to free up resources. The results of this discussion should be a list of challenges and opportunities that will later be used in the identification of strategic issues.

LPHSA Overview
Find an overview of the steps necessary for this phase.

In-depth Guidance
Download full text of this phase as a PDF.

National Public Health Performance Standards Program (NPHPSP) Web site
This Web site links users to the local instrument, user guides, trainings, and other resources, as well as resources for the state and governance instruments.