Public Health Leadership Initiative
for Emergency Response
(PHLIER)
A case-based leadership training
program
American Public Health Association
Annual Meeting, 2006, Boston, MA
Session #138342
Collaborators
• UMDNJ School of Public Health
NJCPHP/PHLIER
• Drew A. Harris, DPM, MPH
• Rebecca E. Baron, BA
• Concetta C. Polonsky, BS, CHES
• Mitchel Rosen, MS
• Marcia M. Sass, DSc
Goals
• Recognize why leadership training and development should
be incorporated in public health emergency preparedness
programs.
• Describe mechanisms for training public health workers to
function during a public health emergency.
• Discuss the benefits of a multi-session fellowship program
in fostering mentorship.
Is Public Health Leadership Different?
• All public health workers
are leaders
• Stakeholder relationships
(collaborative leadership)
• Smaller organizations
AP Photo
• Creative/flexible Thinking
• Emergency response
PH Image Library
Program development & “branding”
Leadership Training
• Leadership is a “Trait”
and a “Process.”
• Didactic??
• Team training
• Experiential training
• Repetitive
Program development & “branding”
Program Principles
Dilemma
Solution
Standard training
Interactive
Solo learning
Bonding
Tight schedules
Leisurely
Rigid curriculum
Flexible
Isolated workplace
Mentoring
One-shot training
Ongoing
Program development & “branding”
Challenges
• Time
• Staffing (backfilling)
• Skills training
• Leadership
Program development & “branding”
PHLIER Goals
• Foster the next generation of public health
leaders;
• Promote excellence in leadership;
• Explore leadership responses to public heath
emergencies; and
• Encourage mentoring amongst public health
leaders of varying experience.
Program development & “branding”
Steering Committee
• Broad-based
• Practice-oriented
• “Connectors”
• Stakeholders
Program development & “branding”
Steering Committee - Role
• Candidate selection
• Review cases
• Oversee evaluation
• Develop curriculum
• Recruitment outreach
Program development & “branding”
Branding
Program development & “branding”
Brand Coherence
Program development & “branding”
Brand Coherence
Program development & “branding”
Diversity
• Main goal
• Diversity defined:
• Geography
• Gender
• Experience
• Professional title
• Type of agency
• Race/ethnicity
Selection Process
Selection Criteria
Applicant will contribute to the PHLIER
Fellowship.
Applicant’s skills and knowledge sets him/her
apart.
PHLIER will be used in the applicant’s
practices.
Selection Process
Application
• Included the necessary relevant information
• Name, contact information, title, agency
• Other key information
• Professional licenses held
• Memberships in public health organizations
• Number of years in public health
• Number of years at current agency
• A resume/CV
Selection Process
Commitment Form
• Commitment forms required
• Signed by both applicant and their supervisor
• Commitment of time
• Increases value of program
Selection Process
Balanced Class
• Twenty fellows
• Represented
different roles and
agencies within
New Jersey public
health
• Ranged in 1 year of
experience to 25+
Selection Process
Benefits of utilizing virtual community
• A sense of reality within a virtual community
• No “home field” advantage
• Team building
• Collaborative thinking
• Opportunity to “think outside of the box”
Virtual community
Phlierton looks like New Jersey
• Reflective of various NJ municipalities
• Health status reflective of NJ
• Diverse communities and governmental
structures
• Public health infrastructure
• Geographically designed as the platform for
the case studies
Virtual community
Verisimilitude
• Phlierton Region
back-story
• GIS map with
geographic markers
• Newsletter
• Case Studies with
pictures and role play
Virtual community
Why cases?
CASES/EXERCISES/TABLETOPS
SPECIALIZATION
Base-level training
Case studies
Building a Health Department
First case
Participants decide:
•
•
•
Regional, county, municipal, LINCS
•
Budget
Autonomous vs. Advisory Boards
Infrastructure
(i.e. number of employees,
departments/divisions, administration)
Case studies
Building a Health Department
•
Basis of all other cases
•
Work with the department they create
Case studies
Emergency cases
•
Food-borne outbreak
•
Lassa Fever retrospective
•
Hurricane “Phritz”
•
Influenza Pandemic
•
Fellow presentations
Case studies
PHLIER Evaluation
When should program evaluation begin?
…As the program is developed
Evaluation
PHLIER Evaluation
On what should it be based?
...Program’s overall goals and objectives
... Incorporate competencies
Evaluation
Evaluation of PHLIER
• CDC Requirement
• Demonstrate outcomes
• short-term
• intermediate
• longer-term outcomes
Evaluation
Evaluation Rubric
1. Pre-program assessment
(preparedness competencies)
2. Session-specific evaluations
3. Exit interviews
4. Post-session evaluation (6 months)
Evaluation
PHLIER Logic Model
Evaluation
1. Pre-assessment results
• Competency-based
• Learned Weak in hazards preparedness
competencies
Evaluation
2. Session-specific evaluations
• Objective
• Competency-based
• Findings used to plan future sessions
Evaluation
3. Exit interviews
• Strengths, limitations, and value of the program
to themselves and others
• Feedback & session information used for new
PHLIER program
Evaluation
4. Post-session assessment
• Six-months follow-up and beyond to obtain
feedback and assess leadership skills
• Re-do pre-assessment
Evaluation
Summary
• Public leadership training needed
• Build a brand identity
• Create a safe virtual community
• Use realistic cases
• Incorporate evaluation from beginning