Learning about how health systems in California and Hawaii can address the social determinants of health: Practices that make a difference

The CA/Hawaii Public Health Leadership Institute's mission is to provide a yearlong leadership development program each year to a cohort of selected participations from the public health system in each State. The Institute emphasizes increasing participants' leadership knowledge, skills, and commitment to leading and managing change, developing organizational capacity, creating strategies, and building partnerships that will contribute to eliminating health inequities and promoting healthy communities in healthy environments. Core to the curriculum are eight public health practices that are introduced conceptually and through case examples to participants. Participants are then required to design and lead a change project within their respective organizations that will move them towards achieving greater health equity. Participants are paired with an action learning coach who supports the design and implementation of the project as well as surface and examine learning opportunities. The first year of the Institute was evaluated and short term results documented in a full report, completed in February of 2010. The evaluation report utilizes a blend of methodologies (surveys, reports, interviews, and stories) to demonstrate which of the public health practices are being implemented most effectively and why. In particular, case examples from Fresno, Madera, Humboldt and Pasadena illuminate how leadership development can build the capacity of health departments in essential practices necessary to transform the culture of public health towards a focus on social determinants of health and health equity.