State health policy makers: what's the message and who's listening?

This article is based on a white paper commissioned by the Directors of Health Promotion and Education, a national organization representing state health agency directors and practitioners in health promotion and education initiatives. The work reflects an assessment of current understanding of how state-level policy makers receive and use information related to health promotion and chronic disease prevention. Although health education practitioners are routinely encouraged to use policy and environmental change strategies, a systematic approach to communication with policy leaders is not readily available. This work describes the current knowledge of the relationship and offers recommendations for research and practice.

Policy and environmental change: new directions for public health.

Solving major, persistent public health problems requires new policies and more aggressive, sweeping interventions that affect large populations. We need well-conceived health policies and effective interventions for environmental change, but are we likely to get them? To find out, the Directors of Health Promotion and Education and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initiated a study of state and local public health agencies in the United States from 1996 through 1999. Data were collected by peer- and non-peer-reviewed literature searches, key informant interviews, reviews of Internet sites, and a nationwide survey. Study conclusions found confusion about the legitimacy of advocacy, lack of priority and funding for interventions that take more time versus quick fixes, variable leadership, reluctance to take risks, and a political climate that often discourages government agencies to take on these interventions. There are successes, yet more can be done.

Health education leadership development: a conceptual model and competency framework.

A National Public Health Education Leadership Institute was developed through collaboration among national health education professional organizations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a school of public health. The institute provides health educators in leadership positions throughout the country access to a 15-month integrated and sequential professional leadership development program. This article presents a conceptual model and competency framework for that program. The model contains elements considered critical for design of leadership programs in public health and can be used by both professional development and academic programs to shape their design of leadership curricula.