Category: Leadership and Systems Thinking

Primary Competency Area

Adaptive Leadership: Strategies for Public Health

Course Objective

  • List highlights of the leadership approach known as “Adaptive Leadership”
  • Describe situational challenges as technical or adaptive
  • Identify the three phases of the “Adaptive Leadership” process
  • Apply the “Adaptive Leadership” behaviors to situations facing public health professionals

Date: December 6th, 2022

Presenter:
Emil J. Sadloch
SADLOCH DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES


In this month’s Log-in2Learn, Emil Sadloch presents on the leadership approach known as “Adaptive Leadership.” He begins by defining “Adaptative Leadership” and explaining the difference between technical and adaptive situational challenges. He goes on to describe the three phases of the “Adaptive Leadership” model: Observe, Interpret, and Intervene. Sadloch ends by presenting a case study and explaining how “Adaptive Leadership” can be applied to a current public health issue.

Participants will be able to:

  1. List highlights of the leadership approach known as “Adaptive Leadership”
  2. Describe situational challenges as technical or adaptive
  3. Identify the three phases of the “Adaptive Leadership” process 
  4. Apply the “Adaptive Leadership” behaviors to situations facing public health professionals 
Monkeypox: Epidemiology, Clinical Features, Challenges and Opportunities

Course Objective

  • List key epidemiological features of the Monkeypox 2022 Outbreak
  • Describe stigma and disparities in relation to Monkeypox
  • Describe lessons learned from HIV and COVID-19 that should inform the monkeypox response

Date: October 4th, 2022

Presenter:
Wafaa M. El-Sadr, MD, MPH, MPA
Executive Vice President, Columbia Global
University Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine at Columbia University
Director of ICAP at Columbia University


In this month’s Log-in2Learn, Dr. Wafaa M. El-Sadr, Executive Vice President at Columbia Global, University Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine at Columbia University, and Director of ICAP at Columbia University, presents an update on the current Monkeypox outbreak. She begins by explaining the Monkeypox virus and the epidemiology of the current 2022 outbreak. She then explains its clinical characteristics, along with current vaccinations and treatment. Finally, Dr. El-Sadr discusses stigma and disparities surrounding Monkeypox, as well as lessons from HIV and COVID-19 that can inform the Monkeypox response.

Participants will be able to:

  1. List key epidemiological features of the Monkeypox 2022 Outbreak
  2. Describe stigma and disparities in relation to Monkeypox
  3. Describe lessons learned from HIV and COVID-19 that should inform the monkeypox response
Adaptation to Stress: Five Practices to Cultivate Resilience and Work-Life Wellbeing

Course Objective

  • Examine your work-life wellbeing and causes of work-life conflict
  • Explain a model of resilience (stressors, protective factors, adaptive & maladaptive coping strategies, resilience, thriving)
  • List five practices to cultivate resilience (mindfulness, using stress to grow, self-leadership, positivity, renewal)

Date: September 13th, 2022

Presenter:
Mary Steinhardt, EdD
Professor and Associate Vice President for Research – Research Integrity Officer,
The University of Texas at Austin


In this month’s Log-in2Learn, Dr. Mary Steinhardt presents practices that can be used to adapt to change and stressful situations, promoting resilience and work-life wellbeing. She starts by defining work-life wellbeing and discusses strategies to optimize it. She then explains the stress response and presents a model of resilience. Dr. Steinhardt concludes by presenting five practices that can be used to grow our resilience.

Participants will be able to:

  1. Examine your work-life wellbeing and causes of work-life conflict
  2. Explain a model of resilience (stressors, protective factors, adaptive & maladaptive coping strategies, resilience, thriving)
  3. List five practices to cultivate resilience (mindfulness, using stress to grow, self-leadership, positivity, renewal
Policy Enactment and Implementation in the Policy Process and How Systems Thinking Fits In

Course Objective

  • Describe the steps and strategies needed to enact and implement a policy, program or service
  • Identify the kinds of individuals and organizations who can contribute to the enactment and implementation of policies, programs, and services
  • Explain the importance of monitoring the implementation of policies, programs, and services
  • Understand how applying habits of systems thinking can improve the enactment and implementation processes

Date: June 30th, 2022

Subject Matter Experts:
Sylvia Pirani, MPH, MS
Public Health Practice Consultant
&
Helen de Pinho, MBBCh, FCCH (Public Health), MBA,
Assistant Professor at Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health,
Associate Director of the Averting Maternal Death and Disability Program (AMDD) at Columbia University


The Strategic Skills Training Series developed by the Region 2 PHTC aims to help prepare public health leaders and the public health workforce to develop the practices and competencies associated with being a Chief Health Strategist. Using a scenario focused on the opioid problem in the fictitious ‘Tycho County’, this course will describe how the ‘Policy Enactment and Policy Implementation’ stages of the CDC policy process can be implemented by a health department using systems thinking tools and approaches.

Learners will be able to:

  1. Describe the steps and strategies needed to enact and implement a policy, program or service
  2. Identify the kinds of individuals and organizations who can contribute to the enactment and implementation of policies, programs, and services
  3. Explain the importance of monitoring the implementation of policies, programs, and services
  4. Understand how applying habits of systems thinking can improve the enactment and implementation processes
How to Recruit, Hire, Monitor and Train Community Health Workers: Guide for Local Health Departments

Course Objective

  • Describe the unique attributes of community health workers (CHWs)
  • List the core roles and competencies of CHWs
  • Define the importance of CHWs in driving public health improvements
  • Discuss ideas for integrating CHWs into public health departments

Date: June 30th, 2022

Subject Matter Expert:
Saehee Lee, MPH, CHES
Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health


This course developed by the Region 2 Public Health Training Center (PHTC) aims to describe the integral role that community health workers (CHWs) can play in public health departments. After illustrating their unique attributes and core roles, the course goes on to discuss ideas for integration into public health departments. The module is designed for local health departments, population and community health organizations, and other relevant organizations.

Learners will be able to:

  1. Describe the unique attributes of community health workers (CHWs)
  2. List the core roles and competencies of CHWs
  3. Define the importance of CHWs in driving public health improvements
  4. Discuss ideas for integrating CHWs into public health departments
New Resources and Creative Strategies for Recruiting Candidates for Health Departments

Course Objective

  • Describe the industry/sector and occupational competition for key roles in public health
  • Identify at least three strategies and tactics your agency can use to attract new hires
  • Assess feasibility of recruitment strategies for your own agency/organization

Date: June 7th 2022

Presenters: 
Heather Krasna, PhD, EdM, MS
Assistant Dean and Director, Career Services, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

Laura J. Trolio
Director, New York State Public Health Corps Fellowship Program, Office of Public Health Practice

Jody Ordioni
Chief Brand Officer, Brandemix


In this month’s Log-in2Learn, Dr. Heather Krasna, Laura Trolio, and Jody Ordioni present new evidence-based resources and strategies to overcome current challenges in public health recruitment. They explain how understanding candidate motivation, creating or leveraging appealing recruitment marketing materials, leveraging the public service motivation of candidates, and highlighting the mission-driven work of public health agencies can help agencies attract the best candidates and compete with other employers. They review strategies such as branding, making a Unique Sales Proposition, and the new forthcoming public health recruitment website for standardized job posting. They also present new funding streams and the NYS Public Health Corps Fellowship Program, with its Public Health Essentials Certificate and mentoring opportunities. There is a focus, throughout, on diversity, equity and inclusion in recruitment, and they finish by answering questions from attendees.

Participants will be able to:

  1. Describe the industry/sector and occupational competition for key roles in public health
  2. Identify at least three strategies and tactics your agency can use to attract new hires
  3. Assess feasibility of recruitment strategies for your own agency/organization
Commercial Determinants of Health : A New Framework for Improving Population Health and Reducing Health Inequities

Course Objective

  • Define commercial determinants  of health and explain the historical origins of this concept
  • Identify the  potential and limitations of the commercial determinants of health framework for development of more effective strategies to improve population health and reduce health inequities
  • Discuss key current needs for research, education  and practice on commercial determinants of health

Date: May 3rd, 2022

Presenter:
Nicholas Freudenberg, DrPH
Distinguished Professor of Public Health
CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy
Senior Faculty Fellow, CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute


In this month’s Log-in2Learn, Dr. Nicholas Freudenberg presents how the commercial determinants of health framework can help reduce health inequities, guided by the belief that another world is possible. He starts by defining commercial determinants of health and reviewing the cascade of public health crises that have happened in the 21st century. He goes over a framework that attributes this cascade and increases in stratification, inequality, and inequity to changes in 6 characteristics of capitalism. He then reviews the importance of changing corporate practices and political and economic structures that harm health, and lists key ideas and strategies that can help tackle that change. He finishes by providing specific examples of how public health professionals can build more alliances and move practice beyond business as usual, and answers questions from attendees.

Participants will be able t0:

  1. Define commercial determinants of health and explain the historical origins of this concept
  2. Identify the potential and limitations of the commercial determinants of health framework for development of more effective strategies to improve population health and reduce health inequities
  3. Discuss key current needs for research, education and practice on commercial determinants of health
Connecting the Dots With Systemic Thinking for Equitable and Healthiest Communities

Course Objective

  • Define key concepts, including: systems, systemic thinking, equity, social justice, and complexity.
  • Explain how systemic thinking links to existing frameworks for equitable and healthier communities.
  • Demonstrate use of two tools for exploring deep leverage points.

Date: January 11th, 2022

Presenter:
Priti Irani, MSPH
Research Scientist

Office of Public Health Practice, New York State Department of Health


In this month’s Log-in2Learn, Priti Irani, MSPH connects system thinking to the revised 10 Essential Public Health Services, which put health equity at the center. She begins by introducing the New York State Prevention Agenda, and defining key concepts of justice, systemic thinking, and targeted universalism. She then illustrates a concrete application of systems thinking by going through the example of food insecurity in New York State as a complex problem. She demonstrates how to use the iceberg model to look for hidden structures and mental models, as well as a causal loop diagram to find deep leverage points that guide interventions for greater impact. Finally, she shares additional online resources to continue the learning and application of systems thinking, and answer questions from live webinar participants, including incorporating paradigm shifts into different jobs.

Participants will be able to:

  1. Define key concepts, including: systems, systemic thinking, equity, social justice, and complexity.
  2. Explain how systemic thinking links to existing frameworks for equitable and healthier communities.
  3. Demonstrate use of two tools for exploring deep leverage points.
School of Hard Knocks: The Impact of the Pandemic on School Children and Their Families

Course Objective

  • Identify forces currently at play which are impacting child well-being
  • Explain how workforce pressures factor into access to mental health services
  • Describe what can be done to help support schools, children, and families

Date: December 7th, 2021

Presenter:
Donna M. Bradbury & Bonnie Catlin
NYS Office of Mental Health
Office of Prevention & Health Initiatives


In this month’s Log-in2Learn webinar, Donna M. Bradbury, MA, LMHC, and Bonnie Catlin, LCSW, discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted school-aged children, their families, and how the NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH) has mounted a response. They begin by providing epidemiological context to the current mental health crisis, including risk factors and changes in prevalence, as well as the OMH’s response to address the disportionate impact on underserved populations. They summarize the strengths and limitations of OMH’s shift to telehealth, such as barriers to access, caregiver involvement, provider responsiveness, and privacy concerns. With new federal resources to expand access, they go over response efforts, such as Project Hope and a 56% increase in number of OMH clinic satellites, as well as prevention programs, such as Healthy Steps, Project TEACH, the NYS trauma-informed network, and restorative practices. They wrap up by presenting the systems of care framework and answering questions from webinar attendees.

Participants will be able to:

  1. Identify forces currently at play which are impacting child well-being
  2. Explain how workforce pressures factor into access to mental health services
  3. Describe what can be done to help support schools, children, and families
Reducing Promotion and Consumption of Ultra-Processed Food

Course Objective

  • Define and explain the impact of ultra-processed food on human and planetary health
  • List factors that contribute to the ubiquity of ultra-processed foods
  • Describe how health professionals can raise public awareness of the harms of ultra-processed food via media literacy and social marketing
  • Identify at least two policy interventions to address misleading product packaging and unhealthy product formulations
  • Describe how taxation and regulation approaches can be used to combat ultra-processed food
  • Describe strategies to promote and subsidize healthy food and beverages, including tap water

Date: June 30th 2021

Subject Matter Experts: 
Nicholas Freudenberg, DrPH, MPH
Distinguished Professor of Public Health, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy & Director, CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute

Craig Willingham, MPH
Deputy Director, CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute

Erinn C. Bacchus, MPH
Doctoral Student, Community Health and Health Policy
Graduate Student Assistant, Healthy CUNY

Jessica Walsh, MPH
Assistant, CUNY School of Public Health


This two-part course developed by the Region 2 Public Health Training Center (PHTC) aims to understand ultra-processed food and explore how health departments can combat the promotion of ultra-processed food.

In Part I, we will develop a better understanding of ultra-processed food, and how it promotes negative health outcomes particularly for some populations.

In Part II, we will explore how health departments can combat the promotion of ultra-processed food.

Participants will be able to:

  1. Define and explain the impact of ultra-processed food on human and planetary health
  2. List factors that contribute to the ubiquity of ultra-processed foods
  3. Describe how health professionals can raise public awareness of the harms of ultra-processed food via media literacy and social marketing
  4. Identify at least two policy interventions to address misleading product packaging and unhealthy product formulations
  5. Describe how taxation and regulation approaches can be used to combat ultra-processed food
  6. Describe strategies to promote and subsidize healthy food and beverages, including tap water
Region 2 Public Health Training Center