Accreditation's Role in Bolstering Resilience in the Face of the Zika Virus Outbreak.

The Florida Department of Health (Department) received accreditation status as an integrated public health system from the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) in 2 phases: the State Health Office received accreditation in June 2014 and the 67 county health departments received accreditation in March 2016. Six weeks after PHAB awarded accreditation to the Department as an integrated public health system in March 2016, the World Health Organization declared the Zika outbreak in the Americas a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Even in that short time, integrated public health accreditation, along with the other components of the Department's performance management system, allowed the Department to address this public health emergency, especially in Miami-Dade County, where the impact of Zika was significant. This case report describes the local response in Miami-Dade County and supporting statewide efforts. Public health departments should consider how public health accreditation could strengthen their ability to fulfill their public health mission. This article provides rationale for state and local health departments to seek accreditation.

Engaging Adolescents Through Participatory and Qualitative Research Methods to Develop a Digital Communication Intervention to Reduce Adolescent Obesity.

BACKGROUND: The complexity of the childhood obesity epidemic requires the application of community-based participatory research (CBPR) in a manner that can transcend multiple communities of stakeholders, including youth, the broader community, and the community of health care providers. AIM: To (a) describe participatory processes for engaging youth within context of CBPR and broader community, (b) share youth-engaged research findings related to the use of digital communication and implications for adolescent obesity intervention research, and (c) describe and discuss lessons learned from participatory approaches. METHOD: CBPR principles and qualitative methods were synergistically applied in a predominantly African American part of the city that experiences major obesity-related issues. A Youth Research Advisory Board was developed to deeply engage youth in research that was integrated with other community-based efforts, including an academic-community partnership, a city-wide obesity coalition, and a primary care practice research network. Volunteers from the youth board were trained to apply qualitative methods, including facilitating focus group interviews and analyzing and interpreting data with the goal of informing a primary care provider-based obesity reduction intervention. RESULTS: The primary results of these efforts were the development of critical insights about adolescent use of digital communication and the potential importance of messaging, mobile and computer apps, gaming, wearable technology, and rapid changes in youth communication and use of digital technology in developing adolescent nutrition and physical activity health promotion. CONCLUSIONS: The youth led work helped identify key elements for a digital communication intervention that was sensitive and responsive to urban youth. Many valuable lessons were also learned from 3 years of partnerships and collaborations, providing important insights on applying CBPR with minority youth populations.