3179.0: Monday, November 13, 2000 - 4:30 PM

Abstract #12309

Healthy New Orleans: A community-driven, non-linear planning process

Shelia J. Webb, RN, MS, New Orleans Department of Health, 1300 Perdido Street, Room 8E18, New Orleans, LA 70112, 504-565-6906, sheliaw@mail.city.new-orleans.la.us, Michael A. Andry, EXCELth, Inc. Primary Care Network, 1515 Poydras Street, Suite 1070, New Orleans, LA 70112, and Helen H. Kitzman, PhD, Community Health Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health, 1440 Canal Street, Suite 2323, New Orleans, LA 70112.

The City of New Orleans is one of three local partnerships in the State of Louisiana that received a national Turning Point grant for the further development of the Healthy New Orleans partnership, for engaging the community in a strategic planning process and the development of community public health system improvement plan.

Healthy New Orleans utilized a participatory, community-driven, consensus-seeking process to formulate the reasons why the public health system needed to change; to identify the obstacles preventing change; and creating a vision, conceptual framework and recommendations to engender change. The Healthy New Orleans Community Public Health System Improvement Plan is the result.

The partners decided to use a non-linear consensus-based strategic planning process and held a series of day-long workshops that involved 222 stakeholders and accomplished: (1) A systems-based visioning process that provided the Partnership with a practical shared vision, a consensus on the issues and problems of the New Orleans Public Health System and the underlying contradictions that keep these problems in place, and actions that would address the underlying contradictions and develop Strategic Directions. (2) The development of a Conceptual Framework of the New Orleans Public Health System that described our picture of the New Orleans Public Health System.(3) A consensus on recommendations that actualize the vision, deal with the contradictions and accomplish our strategic directions. This presentation will focus on the components of the planning process and their significance in conceptualizing our vision which established our strategic directions.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to:

  1. Identify a strategic planning approach to public health systems planning.
  2. Identify elements of a highly interactive, community involved visioning process.
  3. Compare elements of a linear and non-linear planning process.

Keywords: Community Health Planning, Partnerships

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

The 128th Annual Meeting of APHA