About the Book
“The authors bring a passion for social justice, equity, and inclusivity to the dialogue about changing the unjust systems that create disparate population health outcomes.” ©Doody’s Review Service, 2022, Suzan C Ulrich, Dr.PH, MSN, MN, RN, CNM, FACNM (Resurrection University)
Leading Systems Change in Public Health: A Field Guide for Practitioners is the first resource written by public health professionals for public health professionals on how to improve public health by utilizing a systems change lens. Edited by leaders from the de Beaumont Foundation and the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health with chapters written by a diverse array of public health leaders, the book provides an evidence-based framework with practical strategies, processes, and tools for enacting meaningful change. Complete with engaging stories and tips to illustrate concepts in action, this book is the essential guide for current and future public health leaders working within and across individual, interpersonal, organizational, cross-sector, and community levels.
The book addresses subjects such as change leadership, health equity, racial justice, power sharing, and readiness for change. It addresses best practices for enacting change at different levels, including at the personal, interpersonal, organizational, and team or cross-sector level, while describing the factors, the processes, skills, and tools required for leading complex change. It not only covers the process of leading systems change but also the importance of community organizing and coalition building, identifying a shared understanding of the problem, how to leverage the lessons of implementation science, and how to understand the relationship between sustainability and public health. Practical examples and stories highlight challenges and opportunities, systems change in action, and the importance of crisis leadership – including lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key Features:
Enables practitioners to improve public health by utilizing a systems change approach
Applies systems change strategies to help discover solutions for improved community health equity and racial justice
Integrates practical public health examples and stories from innovative leaders in the field
Includes tools for how to implement internal processes that generate creative and effective system change leadership
Table of Contents:
Introduction: Inspired by the Past, Empowering the Future by Cynthia Lamberth
Section I. Framing Systems Change
Chapter 1. The Time is Now for Leading Systems Change in Public Health Practice by Eve C. Pinsker, Christina R. Welter, and Kristina Y. Risley
Chapter 2. Racial Justice and Power-Sharing: The Heart of Leading Systems Change by Lili Farhang and Solange Gould
Chapter 3. Readiness for Change by Amy Mullenix, Rebecca Wells, and Karen Trierweiler
Section II. The Levels and Success Practices for System Change in Public Health
Chapter 4. Personal Leadership by Kristina Y. Risley and Renee Branch Canady
Chapter 5. Interpersonal Leadership by Patricia Moten Marshall, Christina R. Welter, and Samantha Cinnick
Chapter 6. Organizational Leadership by Mary F. Morten and Geneva Porter
Chapter 7. Team and Cross-Sector Leadership by Jeannine Herrick, Christina R. Welter, and Patricia Moten Marshall
Section III. The Process to Lead Systems Change
Chapter 8. Leading Change Through Partnership: Community Organizing, Coalition-Building, and Engaging Nontraditional Partners by Jonathan Webb
Chapter 9. Articulate the Root Challenge by Christina R. Welter, Eve C. Pinsker, and Kristen Hassmiller Lich
Chapter 10. Leveraging the Lessons of Implementation Science to Serve Systems Change by W. Oscar Fleming
Chapter 11. Sustainability and Effective Public Health: A Committed Relationship by Gillian Gawne-Mittelstaedt
Section IV. Practical Examples
Chapter 12. Challenges and Opportunities in Leading Systems Change by Jonathan Webb, Brian C. Castrucci, Grace Castillo, and Kristina Y. Risley
Chapter 13. Public Health Systems Change in Action by Jeannine Herrick and Ray Dlugolecki
Chapter 14. Community Leadership by Dorothy Cilenti and Lacy Fehrenbach
Chapter 15. Using Systems Thinking to Build Preparedness and Response Readiness by Gina Massuda Barnett, Millka Baetcke, Christina R. Welter, and Grace Castillo
Afterword by Golda Philip
About the Author :
Kristina Y. Risley, DrPH, CPCC is an Executive and Leadership Coach with Kris Risley Coaching.
Christina R. Welter, DrPH, MPH is the Director of the Doctorate in Public Health Leadership Program and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Division of Health Policy and Administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) School of Public Health.
Grace Castillo, MPH is a public health practitioner and health writer. She is a Program Associate at the de Beaumont Foundation, where she focuses on project management for book publications.
Brian C. Castrucci, DrPH, MA is the President and Chief Executive Officer at the de Beaumont Foundation.
