Communities of practice foster collaboration across public health

Abstract

Purpose-The complexity and responsibilities of public health make collaboration across multiple levels of government critical. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) effectively uses communities of practice (CoPs) to bring its staff together with partners to share, learn, and address public health problems. This paper aims to focus on CoPs. Design/methodology/approach-The paper assesses the value of CoPs to individual members, their organizations, and their public health domains; assesses whether the CoP Program has improved CDC's relationship with participants in various CoPs; and identifies barriers to participation or success factors that could be applied to the development of new CoPs. Responses from a random sample of active CoP members were analyzed using qualitative data analysis software to identify themes and answer research questions. Findings-The results reveal clear benefits to individual members, their organizations, and public health disciplines including daily work efficiencies, expanded infrastructure, and enhanced relationships between CDC and its public health partners. Research limitations/implications-This qualitative research analyzed a small number of communities of practice spanning their launch through year 2; further study of a larger sample of public health CoPs, including sustainability factors, would build on this case study's implications. Practical implications-Public health practitioners seeking a collaborative approach to problem solving will find in this study some useful lessons learned from CDC; readers will be introduced to CDC's CoP Resource Kit and a public health collaboration portal, phConnect. Originality/value-Well-facilitated, member-driven, and highly participative CoPs are valuable tools for fostering collaboration essential to improving the public health system, and should be used more broadly across public health.

Inclusion Wheel: Tool for Building Capacity and Public Health Leaders to Serve People With Disabilities

“…The CoP model invited an exchange of knowledge and expertise between disability and public health state-level experts. Action research and the CoP model may be used by public health leaders to encourage collaboration and change, building on previous efforts to apply a CoP model to improve the capacity public health system (Mabery et al, 2013). Future efforts should use carefully defined constructs to further test factors of readiness, capacity building, and capacity.…”

“…Successful, positive collaboration creates momentum for further collaborations (Labonte & Laverback, 2001). Capacity increases with active participation in CoPs (Mabery, Gibbs-Scharf, & Bara, 2013).…”

Effective Strategies Small Retail Leaders Use to Engage Employees

“…In accordance with the requirements of ethical research, I conducted a study under the Walden University (IRB) approval number 06-06-17-0580697. A letter of consent given to each person contributed information in the study and contained a clear declaration concerning the purpose of the study, benefits of involvement for the researcher and participant, and the estimated time for the interview process (Mabery, Gibbs-Scharf, & Bara, 2013).…”

Building Capacity for Collective Action to Address Population Health Improvement Through Communities of Practice: A Distance-Based Education Pilot

“…A CoP is a capacity building strategy defined as a group of people who share concerns, problems, or passion about a topic and seek to deepen their knowledge and expertise through ongoing interactions (Wenger, 1998). Through information sharing and group experiences, members learn from one another and develop themselves personally and professionally (Mabery, Gibbs-Scharf, & Bara, 2013). The Leadership Team envisioned building or strengthening CoPs between primary care and public health in each state within the region as the primary mechanism for helping to promote ongoing learning for population health improvement.…”