 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Bobbie Berkowitz, PhD, School of Public Health & Community Health, University of Washington, 6 Nickerson St., Suite 300, Seattle, WA 98109-1618, 206-616-8410, bobbie@u.washington.edu, Stephen M. Padgett, RN, MS, School of Nursing, University of Washington, PO Box 95956, Seattle, WA 98145, and Betty Bekemeier, MSN, MPH, RN, Turning Point National Program Office, University of Washington-School of Public Health, 6 Nickerson St., Suite 300, Seattle, WA 98109.
There is an extensive literature describing collaborative partnerships to promote health, but most of these occur at the local and community level, and often target changes in individual health behaviors. How does collaboration work at the state and national levels, and when targeting public health systems change?
Turning Point is a program funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, involving 21 state-wide initiatives and 5 National Excellence Collaboratives. Characteristics of these state partnerships were analyzed and compared to features described in the literature on community partnerships.
Successful state- and national-level partnerships share some of the challenges and opportunities as grass-roots health-promotion partnerships, including relationship-building, identification of shared values, and realistic goal-setting. Collaboration at state and national levels also involves more attention to organizational alliances and restructuring, and coordination of large-scale planning. Leadership at sufficiently high levels of organizational influence and visibility is necessary, though it must be matched by integration into institutional structures and work plans. Political engagement was described as necessary but difficult, while program sustainability was complicated by recurrent shifts in state policies, budgets, and elected officials.
Reforms in the public health infrastructure require strategic alliances and stakeholder engagement on different levels than traditional grass-roots community work. State and national-level partnerships depend on a combination of interpersonal skills and organizational savvy, as well as competence in managing complex planning and implementation processes. Broad based changes in organizational vision, policy, and structure will require long-term commitments from public health leaders, researchers, and funding agencies.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Collaboration, System Involvement
Related Web page: www.turningpointprogram.org/
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.