1. Introduction to the Systems Change Process
November 14, 2016
Houston, Texas
Doreleena Sammons Hackett, SM, CPM
Executive Director

2. Systems Change for Health (SCH)
Purpose: To strengthen the work of public workforce in health “p”olicy, environment and systems change.
A competency-based training program.
Recognizes that health problems are influenced by policies and environments that either sustain healthy behaviors or fail to support them.
Developed by James Emery, MPH and Carolyn Crump, PhD, University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health
Health Promotion Context
Traditional approach
Education is necessary, but not sufficient
Population-based approach
Improve policies, systems, and environments
Social determinants of health
Rely on the science
Practice the “art”

3. How SCH is Unique
21 Competencies & PH Core Functions Public Health Core Functions and Ten Essential Services
Course 1: problem identification
Course 4: implementation
Course 5: evaluation
Course 2: policy analysis
Course 3: advocacy
Shaping Policy for Health is a series of trainings that build participants skills in 21 specialized competencies needed to change policies, systems and built environments. These validated competencies are aligned with the core public health functions of assessment, policy development, and assurance and public health’s ten essential services.
Each two-day skills-building course in the Shaping Policy for Health curriculum addresses a subset of the competencies.
In the first course, which aligns with the assessment functions, participants identify and clearly describe an issue or problem that requires a Policy, Environmental, or Systems-based approach.
The second course guides participants in using analysis tools for identifying a solution to pursue, beginning the policy development process.
The third course addresses mobilizing community partnerships and other ways to promote solutions among decision-makers.
The fourth course moves into the assurance function as participants consider public health agencies’ available mechanisms for policy implementation.
Evaluation of policy processes and impact are the focus of the fifth skills-building course.

4. Systems Change for Health (SCH) Courses
Introduction to the Policy Change Process (A one day knowledge-based workshop)
Five 2-day competency-based, skills-building courses:
Assessing and Framing the Policy Problem
Using Policy Analysis Tools
Influencing the Policy Change Process
Implementing Enacted Policies
Evaluating Policy Interventions
National cadre of diverse trainers
Audiences:
State and local public health agencies
Community Coalitions
Consists of 6 face-to-face trainings, delivered on-site.
In addition to the five 2-day skills building courses, the curriculum includes a six-hour introductory knowledge-based session that teaches the foundational concepts of effective policy change and provides a vocabulary and structure to understand its purpose.
This is the course being offered here.

5. The first pilot course launched in 2006
The first pilot course launched in In 2009, the Directors of Health Promotion and Education (DHPE) started training trainers to deliver the courses so they could scale up the number of workshops that could be conducted.
Figure 2 is a map of where DHPE has had trainings. The darker the color the more SCH trainings held by a state health department. The squares and hexagons represent non state health department clients: the blue squares are Local health department trainings, red squares and other trainings that were not sponsored by CDC are represented by grey squares. CDC has sponsored several traings via grants were DHPE was either the primary recipient or sub-contractor. CDC sponsored trains are represented by hexagons. The orange hexagons were trainings for CDC staff, yellow, CDC grantees, purple DHPE members, blue NACDD sponsored trainings paid for with CDC funds, green trains for DHPE’ Internship Program, and red for DHPE’s Healy Schools Project. The states outlined in red are the high burden states DHPE has worked with to provide trainings through its CDC grant. The states with the purple stripes have hosted all five skills-based courses. In all:

6. Testimonials from the Field
“Not only did [Participating in SCH courses] reinforce what I already knew, but it gave me new tools and strategies to bring about change, especially when it comes to messaging and including community partners.”
-- Oregon Course 3, 4 and 5 Participant
Testimonials from the Field
“[Participating in SCH courses] helped me to think in a broader context and learn about the interrelated factors that go into creating PSE changes”
-- North Dakota Course 2 Participant
The hand-outs and tools provided in Systems Change for Health courses helped communities plan and organize meetings with stakeholders to discuss shared use agreements between schools and communities for greater access to fitness facilities, tobacco prevention and cessation policies for workplaces and city-wide and local business policies to increase access to heathy choices by adding fruits and vegetables to offerings in convenience stores. Time spent working through identifying the problem and defining the problem statement made it possible to clearly explain the problem and potential policy solution to stakeholders and decision makers.
Jackie Hawkins, Bureau Director and Project Manager for the Delta Collaborative, Jackson, MS