Public health nursing leadership development: An intersectoral approach to addressing health inequities

Background: Today's context for public health (PH) nursing leadership is complex, rapidly evolving, and requires new approaches to develop leaders for today and the future. The Center for Health Leadership and Practice (CHLP) piloted an innovative model for improving leadership capacities of intersectoral teams (including PH nursing leaders) to address health equity and social determinants of health. Descriptions: CHLP improves PH nursing leadership capacities by training within multi-sectoral leadership teams in an applied, team-based, and collaborative leadership development model. An applied community health leadership project is the primary vehicle for experiential learning. The curriculum concentrates on five competencies: leadership mastery; ability to work effectively across sectors; application of continuous quality improvement principles; appropriate use of data for planning, assessment, monitoring and evaluation; and a commitment to population health perspectives. >48 teams have participated, resulting in significant advancement of community health improvements across the nation. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation utilized baseline and follow-up assessments, key informant interviews, and feedback surveys. Lessons Learned: Developing capacities of PH nursing leaders to work and lead across sectors improves their ability to successfully navigate today's complex environment and collaborate on effective community health projects addressing health equity and social determinants of health. Recommendations: Public health nurse leaders must develop competencies to collaborate across sectors and actively engage communities to address the pressing public health inequities of our time. Skills building to develop these competencies should be incorporated in the compendium of PH nursing educational opportunities, shaping competent leaders for today and the future.