Bethesda, Maryland, Jan. 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the COVID-19 pandemic and deepening racial, health, and social inequities have shown us, we are living in an increasingly complex world. Achieving real change will require addressing the root causes of inequity to overcome systemic challenges. To provide a path forward, the de Beaumont Foundation and Springer Publishing have released a new book — Leading Systems Change in Public Health: A Field Guide for Practitioners.
Written by and for practitioners and experts across the spectrum of public health, the book offers practice-based guidance and examples for examining and achieving systems change to improve health equity. The book can be purchased on Springer Publishing's website.
“Public health practitioners need to achieve political, societal, and organizational change but often don't have the training to influence these systems. This book seeks to remedy that,” said co-editor Brian C. Castrucci, DrPH, president and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation. “Leading Systems Change is an essential resource for public heath practitioners committed to pursuing the necessary change to improve our public health systems and to aspire toward racial justice.”
The book offers readers practical guidance and examples for leading systems change, including applying a racial justice and power-sharing framework to systems change work, using systems thinking to create sustainable change, applying best practices to address the root causes of inequities, and more.
“By taking a systems leadership approach, you can have an even more meaningful impact on seemingly intractable public health problems,” said co-editor Christina Welter, DrPH, MPH, director of the Doctorate in Public Health Leadership and a clinical assistant professor in the Division of Health Policy and Administration at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health. “This book provides an inclusive process and framework with tools for understanding and implementing change that leads to collective transformation.”
Co-editor Kris Risley, DrPH, CPCC, executive and leadership coach with Kris Risley Coaching and a senior advisor to the de Beaumont Foundation, said, “Creating genuine, equitable, and lasting changes in our systems and institutions requires that we expand who we involve and how we think to ask questions that get to the root of problems and lead to solutions that work for everyone. This book gives public health practitioners simple strategies that will help them change systems and get results.”
Leading Systems Change in Public Health: A Field Guide for Practitioners and individual chapters are available for purchase from Springer Publishing.
What people are saying about Leading Systems Change in Public Health: A Field Guide for Practitioners:
“The timing and content in this book could not be better! As we apply lessons learned from the pandemic, public health practitioners need to be able to blend their public health expertise with knowledge of complex and often competing systems. This book provides the tools that are needed, all in one place, to support leading healthy systems level change. I recommend it to students, faculty, and public health practitioners who need a fresh, new approach to their leadership development.”
—Kaye Bender, PhD, RN, FAAN, Executive Director, MS Public Health Association
“This is an essential book for all leaders in public health. If public health as an industry is really invested in health and racial equity, it’s imperative that we embrace systems change thinking and interventions. This is the roadmap we need, for how to do just that.”
—Lauren R. Powell, PhD, MPA, VP, US Health Equity & Community Wellness, US Medical Affairs, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, U.S.A., Inc.
“I am excited and grateful for this book, a huge step towards building capacity for systems change in public health and beyond. The book thoughtfully combines well respected and diverse bodies of work, making them accessible and applicable to different levels of systemic intervention. Each chapter balances solid framing with a generous amount of detailed and applied cases and tools. This is the type of integration that the field of systems change has been looking for!”
—Marta Ceroni, Co-Director, Academy for Systems Change
“Given the strong correlation between income and wealth as a predictor of better health outcomes and more than 100 million people in America experiencing economic insecurity, this book is critical to overcoming the harmful design challenges embedded within our laws, regulations, customs, and institutions. This book equips leaders to see systems in their entirety and transform them. It also provides a path forward for marshaling the courage to create a just and fair society—one where all people can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential.”
—Michael McAfee, EdD, President and CEO, PolicyLink
About the de Beaumont Foundation
The de Beaumont Foundation creates and invests in bold solutions that improve the health of communities across the country. Its mission is to advance policy, build partnerships, and strengthen public health to create communities where everyone can achieve their best possible health. As part of its mission, the Foundation partners with leading publishers to produce books with insights and practical guidance for public health professionals and advocates. For more information, visit www.debeaumont.org.
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