Using Collaborative Leadership Methods to Strengthen the Public Health System

Defined by the Institute of Medicine in the 2002 report, “The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century,” an intersectoral public health system is characterized by effective collaboration between the many sectors of society, such as, government, community, healthcare providers, academic, business, and the media to assure the conditions for population health.

To enhance the awareness of the workforce of the basic skills needed to effectively work within the public health system, the Michigan Public Health Training Center, in collaboration with trainers from the Turning Point Leadership Development National Excellence Collaborative, developed a self-paced online course for current and emerging leaders in public health on the fundamentals of collaborative leadership. The course was designed to be self-paced, convenient, and portable and provide a gateway to further exploration of the skills required for effective health systems management. The course is accessible to all levels and sectors of the public health system.

This self-paced course provides:

• a basis for understanding the concepts of collaborative leadership,

• tools for individuals to assess and develop leadership skills, and

• public health examples of how collaborative leadership can address problems in the system.

The course is designed for use by existing cross-sector groups responsible for assuring population health to begin their conversation about collaboration. Preliminary results indicated a noted increase in students' understanding of the fundamentals of collaborative leadership. Additional data is being collected to learn if the course is being used across the sectors.