The Effects of Leadership and Governance Processes on Member Participation in Community Health Coalitions

Abstract

This study examines the effects of coalition leadership and governance on member participation in voluntary community health coalitions. Path modeling was used to explore how leadership and governance processes in coalitions affect existing member costs, benefits, and levels of participation. It was hypothesized that the effects of coalition decision making and leadership variables would be indirect by working through their effects on participants' perceived influence over coalition decision making and on overall consensus around the coalition vision. Results of the analysis indicate that open and collaborative decision making and empowering leadership do have indirect, positive effects on the level of participation by way of vision consensus and participation benefits. Participation costs, however, show no significant direct effect on the level of participation. Perceived personal influence appears to be primarily an outcome of participation rather than an antecedent.

What drives and constrains effective leadership in tackling child undernutrition? Findings from Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India and Kenya

“…Leadership has also been highlighted in the wider field of public health as an important factor for effective public action -whether in bringing issues such as child or maternal mortality to global attention and scaling up appropriate responses (Shiffman, 2010;Shiffman and Smith, 2007); tackling complex issues such as HIV and AIDS at national and community levels (Bor, 2007;Campbell, 2010) or ensuring effective partnerships in tackling serious public health problems (El Ansari et al, 2009;Kumpfer et al, 1993;Metzger et al, 2005;Weiss et al, 2010). Recent opinions in the Lancet have criticised a lack of leadership in certain national public health settings (Horton, 2011); or have espoused similar calls for 'heroes' in public health leadership (Day et al, 2014).…”

Leadership transitions in multisectoral health care alliances

“…Researchers have described participation as a critical factor for getting work done in volunteer organizations such as alliances (Chinman, Andersen, Imm, Wandersman, & Goodman, 1996;Metzger et al, 2005). Decisions regarding whether to participate and how much effort to contribute, in turn, are often based on member assessments of the benefits and costs associated with this participation (Chinman et al, 1996;Chinman & Wandersman, 1999).…”

“…One key feature of these organizations highlighted in previous research is leadership; studies show that effective leadership is important for fostering agreement regarding the vision and mission of the organization (Alexander, Comfort, Weiner, & Bogue, 2001;Weiner, Alexander, & Shortell, 2002), building consensus and resolving conflicts regarding organizational activities (Hearld, Alexander, Bodenschatz, Louis, & O'Hora, 2013;Metzger, Alexander, & Weiner, 2005), and promoting organizational effectiveness (HasnainWynia et al, 2003;Zakocs & Edwards, 2006). The importance of leadership for building a broad-based foundation for action and sustaining efforts over the long term has led some researchers to describe leadership as the ''glue'' that holds collaborative organizations together, especially owing to the fact that they typically lack formalized structures (Bailey & Koney, 1996;Lasker, Weiss, & Miller, 2001;Nowell & Harrison, 2010).…”

Evaluation Protocol To Assess an Integrated Framework for the Implementation of the Childhood Obesity Research Demonstration Project at the California (CA-CORD) and Massachusetts (MA-CORD) Sites

“…At 12 months, the ORIC will be replaced with a six-item measure of implementation climate. 67 Both the baseline and 12-month surveys also include items assessing respondent demographic characteristics, 5-point Likert scale items regarding the perceived benefits of participating in the coalition, 68 and the Wilder Collaboration Factors Inventory (WCFI). The WCFI is comprised of 47 individual Likert scale items representing six categories of factors shown to affect the success of collaborative endeavors, 69,70 including: (1) the local environment in which coalition members are located (e.g., earlier history of collaboration); (2) member characteristics; (3) collaborative processes and structure; (4) quality of communication between coalition members; (5) clarity of coalition purpose; and (6) resources, specifically adequacy of coalition funds, staff, and leadership.…”