Show Navigation

Leadership and capacity

Leadership is needed to build the capacity of public health practitioners, organizations and the field in general to improve the conditions where we live, work and play, and, ultimately, the health of our society.

In the 2008, the Chief Public Health Officer's report of Canada's strong, visionary leadership and shared as a common characteristic of jurisdictions That-have stepped ahead in health equity work. Leadership emerged as central to health equity work in our 2010 Environmental ScanIntegrating social determinants of health and health equity into Canadian public health practice and is a domain in the 2012 Core Competencies for Public Health in Canada.

One of the promising practices identified to help public health practice at the local level reduce social inequities in health, is related to leadership and capacity: Competencies and organizational standards. 

Highlights from projects

What Contributes to successful public health leadership for health equity? An appreciative inquiry

To identify the factors and conditions that effectively influence public health leadership to address the social determinants of health and health equity, we conducted appreciative inquiry interviews with 14 public health leaders. The postponement summarizes the findings and provides examples from Canadian public health practice. 

Public Health Speaks: Organizational standards as a promising practice for health equity

In 2013, we explored the use of "organizational standards" to make social inequities in public health priority. This resource is a summary of four interviews with Canadian public health experts reflecting on their experiences using "standards" to support organizational frameworks and renewal processes. 

An environmental scan and assessment of online learning opportunities related to health equity and social determinants of health, for public health practitioners in Canada

To help managers and practitioners in the field find the right race for their professional development, we conducted a scan for online courses, in English and French, that were designed to increase participants' knowledge and skills in working towards health equity through the social determinants. We also completed a brief assessment of each course for quality and relevance, resulting and recommended in 12 courses. To learn more about the methods for this work, click here.

Public health leadership for action on health equity: A literature review

A scoping literature review and a qualitative synthesis of literature about effective public health leadership, and enablers and barriers to leadership capacity regarding health equity.

 

Leadership for Equity Series of Case Studies

 

View more related resources.