[Tool Kit] A Tribal and Territorial Health Department Public Health Capacity Assessment Workbook
(June 2023)
A public health capacity self-assessment is an important first step in understanding a department’s public health systems, operations, processes, and policies. The process itself is a valuable learning experience, and assessment results can be used to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement. This workbook is intended to be used as a tool for Tribal and Territorial Health Departments (THD) to self-assess their public health capacity utilizing the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) Standards & Measures, Version 2022. The PHAB Standards & Measures align with the 10 Essential Public Health Services and are embedded with the Foundational Public Health Capabilities.
Red Star has a companion guide entitled: Tribal & Territorial Health Department Guide To Assessing Public Health Capacity, A Collaborative Approach. The guide provides a step-by-step process to help plan, organize and conduct a collaborative assessment using this tool. It includes guidance on how to use the results for strategic planning and performance improvement.
Acknowledgements: We extend our appreciation to Gray Horse Strategies who originally created this tool in 2013, and updated it 2018. Red Star International, Inc. collaborated with Gray Horse Strategies to update the 2018 iteration to align with the PHAB Standards & Measures, Version 2022. This particular update is expanded to include new scoring mechanisms to capture a THD’s capacity based on the Foundational Public Health Capabilities measures, and collaboration priorities with state and local agencies.
