Leading Systems Change in Public Health: A Field Guide for Practitioners

Authors: Kristina Y. Risley, DrPH, CPCC, Christina R. Welter, DrPH, MPH, Grace Castillo, MPH, Brian C. Castrucci, DrPH
Released: December 2021 Length: 220 Pages Published By: Springer Publishing Company Price: $55.00
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We live in an increasingly complex world. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, deepening racial, health, and social inequities have only accentuated this complexity. More than a traditional behavioral change approach is needed to address systemic challenges. Creating genuine, effective, equitable, and lasting change 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 — especially those who are most impacted by our systems.  

Written for public health practitioners and partners, Leading Systems Change in Public Health: A Field Guide for Practitioners provides an inclusive process and framework with tools for implementing change that leads to transformation. This comprehensive resource translates academic and practice experiences into a roadmap that is approachable and easy to use, regardless of where you or your institution are on the journey to change. Leading Systems Change also features real-life public health systems change initiatives that apply concepts explored in the book. 

Table of contents
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Experienced authors share their perspectives for leading across and within the levels of systems change. They provide practical and useful guidance on topics such as: 

  • Defining systems change concepts and definitions in public health  
  • Applying a racial justice and power-sharing framework to your systems change work 
  • Embracing systems change at the individual, interpersonal, team, organization, and community levels 
  • Assessing your readiness for systems change  
  • Engaging diverse partners for collaborative action 
  • Asking questions that will lead to effective, inclusive, and sustainable systems change 
  • Kristina Y. Risley, Executive and Leadership Coach with Kris Risley Coaching and Senior Advisor to the de Beaumont Foundation
  • Christina R. Welter, Director of the Doctorate in Public Health Leadership and Clinical Assistant Professor in the Division of Health Policy and Administration at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health
  • Grace Castillo, Program Associate at the de Beaumont Foundation
  • Brian C. Castrucci, DrPH, President and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation
  • Millka Baetcke, Senior Managing Consultant at Integrated Solutions
  • Gina Massuda Barnett, Deputy Director of Public Health Programs at the Cook County Department of Public Health
  • Renée Branch Canady, CEO of Michigan Public Health Institute
  • Grace Castillo, Program Associate at the de Beaumont Foundation
  • Brian C. Castrucci, President and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation
  • Dorothy Cilenti, Associate Professor for the Department of Maternal and Child Health at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Samantha Cinnick, Former Program Officer at the de Beaumont Foundation
  • Ray Dlugolecki, Assistant Director of Public Health at the Jackson County Health Department
  • Lili Farhang, Co-Director of Human Impact Partners
  • Lacy Fehrenbach, Deputy Secretary, COVID-19 Response at the Washington State Department of Health
  • W. Oscar Fleming, Implementation Scientist at National Implementation Research Network; Clinical Assistant Professor for the Department of Maternal and Child Health at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Gillian Gawne-Mittlestaedt, Director of Partnership for Air Matters
  • Solange Gould, Co-Director of Human Impact Partners
  • Kristen Hassmiller Lich, Associate Professor for the Department of Health Policy and Management; Faculty Member for the Executive Doctoral Program in Health Leadership at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Jeannine Herrick, Founder of Jeannine Herrick Leadership Coaching and Consulting; Adjunct Faculty of Public Health Leadership at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Cynthia D. Lamberth, Executive Director of the Kentucky Population Health Leadership Institute
  • Patricia Moten Marshall, President of SynerChange Chicago
  • Mary F. Morten, President of Morten Group, LLC
  • Amy Mullenix, Senior Collaboration Manager at the Maternal Health Learning & Innovation Center, National MCH Workforce Development Center for the Department of Maternal and Child Health at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Golda Philip, Senior Advisor for Equity at the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, for the Health Resources Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • Eve C. Pinsker, Clinical Assistant Professor for the Department of Community Health Sciences; Core Faculty Member, Doctorate in Public Health Leadership at the School of Public Health University of Illinois at Chicago
  • Geneva Porter, Project Director of Morten Group, LLC
  • Kristina Y. Risley, Executive and Leadership Coach with Kris Risley Coaching; Senior Advisor to the de Beaumont Foundation
  • Karen Trierweiler, (Retired) Founding Partner of Total Population Health, LLC
  • Jonathan Webb, CEO of the Association of Women’s Health Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
  • Rebecca Wells, Professor for the Department of Management, Policy, and Community Health at The University of Texas School of Public Health
  • Christina R. Welter, Director of DrPH in Leadership; Clinical Assistant Professor for the Department of Health Policy and Administration at the School of Public Health University of Illinois Chicago

Media requests

To request a copy or an interview with an author, please send an email to [email protected].

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Springer Publishing Company

What people are saying about
Leading Systems Change in Public Health: A Field Guide for Practitioners

Kaye Bender, PhD, RN, FAAN, Executive Director, Mississippi Public Health Association

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, Mississippi Public Health Association
Marta Ceroni, Co-Director, Academy for Systems Change

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
Michael McAfee, EdD, President and CEO, PolicyLink

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

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.

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