New and Improved! Leading through Health System Change 2.0 - the Sequel

Background:  Public health leaders have important questions related to how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will affect the future of public health at the local, state, and national levels. With input from public health professionals from across the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Network of Public Health Institutes, and the Georgia Health Policy Center created a collaborative planning tool to help public health organizations begin to examine and discuss opportunities and challenges posed by the current health system transformation. 

Program background:  The online tool “Leading through Health System Change” launched in July 2013 to assist public health leaders in thinking adaptively and planning strategically through health and health care system transformation. The tool's website and interactive PDF can be used individually or with a team to examine the basics of health care reform, apply adaptive thinking to questions related to health system change, and create a simplified implementation plan to leverage the opportunities in the health care reform law to improve population health. Technical assistance is available through webinars, telephone consultation, on-site assistance; and train-the-trainer sessions. Dissemination occurs through social media, webinars, conference presentations, and through distribution channels with national public health partners (newsletters, websites, webinars, and social media). The project received White House, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and CDC clearance. In 2016, the team is updating and relaunching the widely used planning tool with fresh content to reflect additional regulatory changes and ACA activity since launch, new examples showcasing best practices from across the country, and integrated learning modules specific to public health topic areas, including a maternal and child health module. In addition to updated content and video instruction, usability features will be enhanced that will provide both a better user experience and improved trackability and data collection.

Evaluation Methods and Results:  Regular website utilization analysis is the primary means of monitoring dissemination and adoption success. To date the online portal and interactive PDF generated more than 12,375 site visits with 1,286 registered public health users in 50 states. Users originate from government organizations (64%), individuals or other (16%), non-profits (9%), academic institutions (7%), and private organizations (4%). The majority of users are from local- and state-level entities (47% and 42%, respectively), with 11% from federal organizations. Just about half of those registered used the interactive PDF option (49%), while 41% used the online portal and 10% use MS Word or pen and paper. These metrics have informed elements of the redesign.

Conclusions:  While uptake of the initial launch was successful, improvements in the tool’s usability will boost the next wave of adoption, while enhanced trackability features will better inform evaluation and future iterations of the planning tool. The relaunched tool will reinvigorate previous users’ engagement and will capture new adopters with a more user-friendly interface.

Implications for research and/or practice:  The updated “Leading Through System Change” provides public health leaders with a planning tool that boosts learning capacity and leadership skills necessary in an environment of health system transformation.