Create equity and long-lasting impact through policy change

This module includes the “team designed” portion of the program curriculum, which is focused on public health policy and health equity. Below, we have provided a broad collection of resources, materials, and tools. This is an opportunity to customize your learning to meet your team’s specific needs related to leadership learning and/or your AHLP.

Instructions

  1. Review both the policy and health equity resources, materials, and tools below. 

  2. Work with your coach and reference the following sources to determine which learning activities will be best for your team to select: 

  3. Teams will choose at least one item from the Policy topic area and at least one item from the Health Equity topic area. Several of the options below, listed under the Policy & Health Equity header, can count as either a policy or health equity selection. Your team must choose a minimum of one selection per topic area.

 
 

ACTIVITY SELECTION DUE DATE

Friday, May 24

COMPLETED ACTIVITIES SUBMISSION DATE

Friday, June 28

Module Deadlines

DUE FRIDAY, MAY 24

Submit Your Team’s Activity Selections

Submission will include reporting: 

  • which resources, materials, or tools have been selected; 

  • the rationale for why each was selected; 

  • the team member(s) responsible for each selection; 

  • and the date by which the selection will be completed.  

DUE FRIDAY, JUNE 28

Submit Your Completed Activities

Final submission of completed activities includes:  

  • the name of each resource, material or tool your team has completed;

  • and a brief description of how each activity’s content relates to or supports your team’s Big Picture and/or AHLP.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTIONS

Policy - select at least one option

Please see below for resource, material, and tool descriptions, and links. Alternatively, you can download a PDF with all of the activity descriptions and links.

Download PDF

1P

Innovative Policies for Creating Healthy Places (archived webinar)

The archived webinar, Innovative Policies for Creating Healthy Places, showcases innovative policies that create healthy places to live, work, and play.  It covers ways to generate support for policy change, how local ordinances work, and how to change them. ChangeLab Solutions shares many case studies of relevance to the work that you are doing. 

Teams that select this option agree to: 

  • Watch the webinar recording. 

  • Complete the webinar survey. 

  • Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP. 

2P

Why Policy Matters and What Policy Looks Like: The Nuts and Bolts of Making Your Own Policies (archived webinar) 

During the archived webinar, Why Policy Matters and What Policy Looks Like: The Nuts and Bolts of Making Your Own Policies, ChangeLab Solutions leads a discussion on why policy matters in the community health work that you are doing. This includes a look into elements of policies and the basic elements of writing a policy. Using an interactive tool from their website as an example and catalyst for discussion, ChangeLab walks participants through the steps it takes to write policy. 

Teams that select this option agree to: 

  • Watch the webinar recording. 

  • Complete the webinar survey. 

  • Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP. 

3P

Getting the Work Done in the Political Arena (video recording) 

Los Angeles City Councilmember Gilbert Cedillo understands how to get work done in the political arena. Tune into this inspirational talk to hear about a journey of political perseverance that touches on topics that include: making the “choice to leadership,” and embracing values, vision, and commitment to get the work done in the political arena. 

Teams that select this option agree to: 

  • Watch the video recording. 

  • Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP. 

 

4P

The Challenge of Assessing Policy and Advocacy Activities (report) 

The California Endowment report, The Challenge of Assessing Policy and Advocacy Activities, outlines a recommended approach to policy change evaluation. This includes outlined steps and a process for policy change that many teams will find valuable. 

Teams that select this option agree to: 

  • Read the report to better understand the topic of policy in relation to their AHLP. 

  • Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP. 

5P

Introduction to Policy Analysis in Public Health (training) 

This 90-minute training course from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Introduction to Policy Analysis in Public Health, has been designed for public health practitioners and introduces participants to the CDC policy process. It addresses the policy analysis component of the process and aims to provide an understanding of what policy analysis is and how to use it to assess policy options. 

Teams that select this option agree to: 

  • Create an account and complete the course. 

  • Download the TRAIN Certificate of Attendance and submit a copy of the certificate of course completion to LAPH program staff at laph@healthleadership.org. 

  • Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP. 

6P

Introduction to Policy Evaluation in Public Health (training) 

This two-hour training course from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Introduction to Policy Evaluation in Public Health, has been designed for public health practitioners and introduces the participant to the use of policy evaluation in public health. The course instructs on how to apply evaluation methods throughout a policy process. Course content describes what “policy evaluation” is and will discuss how to apply the CDC Evaluation Framework to conduct an evaluation of policy impacting public health. 

Teams that select this option agree to: 

  • Create an account and complete the course. 

  • Download the TRAIN Certificate of Attendance and submit a copy of the certificate of course completion to CHLI at laph@healthleadership.org. 

  • Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP. 

 

7P

The Public Health Law Academy Certificate Program (training course w/ certificate) 

From ChangeLab Solutions and developed in partnership with Public Health Law Program, The Public Health Law Academy’s certificate program provides foundational training in public health law. “The Public Health Law Academy Certificate is awarded upon completion of seven required trainings that provide an introduction to public health law; cover hot topics in public health law such as emergency preparedness law; and offer an introduction to legal epidemiology.” This training course includes seven distinct sessions, each about 45 minutes to an hour long.  

Note: In order to access course content, you will need to create a user account on train.org. When you click on the first course in the series, there will be an option at the top of the page to either sign-up or login to you train.org account.  

Teams that select this option agree to: 

  • Complete the seven required courses in this certificate program.  

  • Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP 

 

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTIONS

Health Equity - select at least one option

Please see below for resource, material, and tool descriptions, and links. Alternatively, you can download a PDF with all of the activity descriptions and links.

Download PDF

1HE

Vulnerable Populations Footprint (online tool) 

The Vulnerable Populations Footprint (VPF) is a web-based map-building tool on the Center for Applied Research and Engagement Systems (CARES) Engagement Network website. The Engagement Network has many other public and custom tools. The VPF can be used to find the most vulnerable populations in your community -- areas with low educational attainment and high poverty. 

Teams that select this option agree to: 

  • See what’s new with both maps and reports on the CARES Engagement Network site. 

  • Go to the home page and check out the “Explore Featured Content” (scroll down) and create a map using the parameters of the team’s target population as a guide and the Vulnerable Populations Footprint. 

  • Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP. 

2HE

Community Engagement “How-To” (live webinar) 

The webinar, Community Engagement “How-To”--Values and Pitfalls,  includes a presentation by CHLP coach, Mildred Thompson, which focuses on the “how” and “what” of community engagement as well as what’s most important and what to avoid. 

Teams that select this option agree to do the following: 

  • View the archived recording. 

  • Complete the webinar survey. 

  • Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP. 

3HE

Building Healthy, Equitable Communities (training) 

ChangeLab Solutions’ Building Healthy, Equitable Communities Series is a virtual space for exploring the topic of health equity. This series offers 6 strategic trainings (plus one bonus training) that examine how law and policy coupled with community power can catalyze new opportunities for health equity. 

Teams that select this option agree to do the following: 

  • Choose at least two strategic trainings that are relevant to your team’s work.  

  • Watch the trainings. 

  • Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP. 

 

4HE

Centering Equity in Collective Impact (various resources) 

These three resources from the Collective Impact Forum all relate to centering equity in collective impact efforts.   

  1. “Strategies to Support Centering Equity in Collective Impact” is a podcast that reviews findings from the Stanford Social Innovation Review article titled “Centering Equity in Collective Impact.” In this podcast, the authors of this article discuss lessons learned from collaboratives who are practicing deep equity work, and strategies that arose through the process. 

  2. The “Centering Equity in Collective Impact” webinar explores lessons learning in the practice of collaborative impact over the past decade. The webinar shares key strategies to help collective impact efforts center equity in their work. 

  3.  In the “Core Principles to Support Anti-Racism in Collective Impact” podcast, Erika Bernabei and Theo Miller share their experience as co-leaders of the consulting group Equity and Results. They share what they have learning from supporting organizations striving to embed anti-racism practices in their collective impact work and share a set of core principles to guide collective impact initiatives that want to more deeply focus on racial equity work. 

Teams that select this option agree to: 

  • Watch the webinar and listen to both podcasts.  

  • Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP. 

5HE

Health Equity Evidence and Strategic Practice Resources (website resources) 

Evidence: The Achieving Health Equity page is a webpage for public health professionals full of articles, tools, and resources to further expand understandings and practices of health equity. 

Strategic Practice: HealthEquityGuide.org is a resource with inspiring examples of how health departments have concretely advanced health equity — both internally within their departments and externally with communities and other government agencies. This website includes: a set of strategic practices to advance health equity in local health departments, key actions health departments can take to advance their current practice towards health equity, 25+ case studies from local health departments that describe how they advanced the strategic practice, factors that enabled the work, impacts, and advice for others, and 150+ resources from allied organizations and others to advance the strategic practices. 

Teams that select this option agree to: 

  • Visit the Achieving Health Equity (AHE) page and choose at least three articles on the page to read. 

  • Visit the HealthEquityGuide.org Strategic Practices page and choose at least three different strategic practices to read about. 

  • Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP. 

6HE

Community Engagement and Organizing (archived webinar) 

The webinar, Community Engagement and Organizing, features a panel that includes National Leadership Academy for the Public’s Health (NLAPH) alumni and other diverse leaders engaged in community engagement and organizing efforts. Desired outcomes of the webinar include: learning key tenets of engaging communities and stakeholders; examples of how systems and political leadership frameworks lead to policy and systems change; examples that demonstrate the importance of respect for cultures; and building stronger networks as a foundation for systems change. 

Teams that select this option agree to: 

  1. Watch the webinar recording. 

  1. Complete the webinar survey. 

  1. Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP. 

 

7HE

The Organizational Self-Assessment for Addressing Heath Inequities (toolkit) 

The Organizational Self-Assessment for Addressing Health Inequities Toolkit from the Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII) provides public health leaders with tools and guidelines that help identify the skills, organizational practices and infrastructure needed to address health equity and provide insights into steps local health departments can take to ensure their organization can have an impact on this growing problem. 

Teams that select this option agree to: 

  • Read sections one and two of toolkit (pages 1-11 of the PDF document). 

  • Read the self-assessment readiness checklist on page 12, section 3 of the toolkit. 

  • Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP. 

8HE

Transforming the Narrative: Health Equity and the Community (toolkit) 

The Transforming the Narrative: Health Equity and the Community toolkit was designed by the National Network of Public Health Institutes. It is meant to complement the narrative change work being done in our communities every day that decrease exposure to ACEs that will eventually prevent substance use, and in the process, help create more opportunities to achieve health equity. The goal of this toolkit is to offer insight from project partners that built and amplified transformative narratives in their communities, as well as resources that will help others build sustainable, cross-sector relationships, and harness grassroots power that helps us all to get closer in achieving health equity in our communities. For health departments and their partners, the toolkit offers a frame to develop more justice-rooted language. 

Teams that select this option agree to: 

  • Explore the various sections of the toolkit (pages 1-58 of the PDF document). 

  • Complete the Video Training Workbook (pages 59-70 of the PDF document). 

  • Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP. 

9HE

Achieving Environmental Health Equity: The Need and Opportunities for Public Health Action (issue-brief)

The Achieving Environmental Health Equity: The Need and Opportunities for Public Health Action issue-brief was created by the Environmental Health & Equity Collaborative. This two-part issue brief provides a description and examples of health disparities and their systemic and structural causes and a series of opportunities for action for public health organizations. 

Teams that select this option agree to: 

  • Read the issue-brief in its entirety (pages 1-8 of the PDF document). 

  • Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTIONS

Policy & Health Equity

Resources under this heading can be used as either a policy or health equity selection.

Please see below for resource, material, and tool descriptions, and links. Alternatively, you can download a PDF with all of the activity descriptions and links.

Download PDF

1PHE

Uprooting the Structural Drivers of Health Inequity Trainings (training) 

From ChangeLab Solutions, Uprooting the Structural Drivers of Health Inequity Trainings feature six different episodes, each with a diverse panel of partners who engage in deep-dive discussions and connect the drivers of health inequity to policy change in a key area: community health, employment, education, planning, food systems, or housing. The speakers connect the dots between historical laws and policies and the inequities we face today and articulate an inclusive policy agenda for the future. 

Teams that select this option agree to do the following: 

  • Choose one training episode that is most relevant to your team’s work.  

  • Watch the training. 

  • Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP. 

2PHE

Health in All Policies (HiAP) Toolkit (toolkit)  

ChangeLab Solutions developed this comprehensive Health in All Policies (HiAP) toolkit for anyone interested in building healthier communities through more collaborative and efficient policymaking, and to offer best practices and lessons learned from community leaders who are doing exactly that. With your teammates, you will complete three of the five items included in this toolkit. 

Note: The toolkit is a free resource that requires you to sign up with your email for access to the tools and larger library of HiAP materials. 

Teams that select this option agree to: 

  • Watch the Collaborative Health: A Health in All Policies video. 

  • Read A Roadmap for Health in All Policies. 

  • Review the Commitment to Change: Health in All Policies Model Policies. 

  • Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP. 

3PHE

The Public Health Law Program 2021 Webinar Series (webinar) 

A collaboration between CHLI and the Public Health Law Program (PHLP) in the CDC’s Center for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support, this two-part webinar series from 2021 provides insight into health equity as it relates to the enactment and creation of law and various health policies. 

Part I: Equity, Structural Racism, and Public Health Law  

Part II: Law and Health Equity: A Pathway for Moving Forward 

Teams that select this option agree to: 

  • Watch the recording for Part I. 

  • Watch the recording for Part 2. 

  • Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP. 

 

4PHE

A Primer on Community Power, Place, and Structural Change (primer) 

The USC Dornsife Equity Research Institute’s A Primer on Community Power, Place, and Structural Change examines how health equity can be achieved through a community power-building approach to structural change. The primer highlights key elements of structural reform from the perspective of community power-building organizations and provides examples of community led pathways to achieve structural change.   

Teams that select this option agree to: 

  • Read the primer to better understand the topics of community power, place, and structural change in relation to their AHLP. 

  • Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP. 

5PHE

Promoting Equity through the Practice of Health Impact Assessment (primer) 

Published by PolicyLink, the Promoting Equity through the Practice of Health Impact Assessment primer demonstrates how Health Impact Assessment (HIA) can be used to support equitable decision making processes and outcomes. The report also provides a set of principles for guidance in HIA practice, specific strategies for implementing each principle, and identifies key challenges to this work, as well as suggestions for overcoming the challenges.  

Teams that select this option agree to: 

  • Read the report to better understand how to promote equity through the practice of conducting heath impact assessments in relation to their AHLP. 

  • Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP. 

6PHE

A Blueprint for Changemakers: Achieving Health Equity Through Law & Policy (guide)

Published by ChangeLab Solutions, A Blueprint for Changemakers: Achieving Health Equity Through Law & Policy presents legal strategies and best practices to help policymakers and communities address five fundamental drivers of health inequity and leverage the efficacy of local policy solutions, incorporate health in all policies, and engage underserved communities in the policy process.  

Teams that select this option agree to: 

  • Read the guide (pages 1-35 of PDF document linked on webpage). 

  • Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP. 

If interested, teams can also explore the two companion resources shared on this page:  

  • Strategies for Equitable Policymaking: Law & Policy Frameworks to Improve Health - This concise resource expands on the equitable policymaking frameworks and concepts presented in the Blueprint — the drivers of health inequity, community engagement, equitable enforcement, preemption, and more — and grounds those concepts in real-world examples. 

  • Undoing the Drivers of Health Inequity – This web tool connects each of the five fundamental drivers of health inequity to practical policy strategies, key resources, and real-world examples of how communities across the country have used equitable policymaking to confront the drivers of health inequity and create systems change.

CA-PHE

The California Healthy Places Index (tool) 

*For California Teams Only 

The California Healthy Places Index (HPI) is a powerful tool, developed by the Public Health Alliance of Southern California, to assist you in exploring local factors that predict life expectancy and comparing community conditions across the state. The HPI provides overall scores and more detailed data on specific policy action areas that shape health, like housing, transportation, education and more. This website offers other resources everyone will find useful, including an interactive map, graphs, data tables, and policy guide with practical solutions for improving community conditions and health. 

Teams that select this option agree to: 

  • Visit the HPI home page and familiarize yourself with the resources. 

  • Read and follow the directions in the California HPI User Guide. 

  • Apply content to your Big Picture/AHLP. 

 

COMPLIMENTARY RESOURCE 

Public Health Law Introduction Videos - ChangeLab Solutions 

From ChangeLab Solutions, “This collection of videos for public health practitioners provides short introductions to public health law, core concepts for improving population health, and background on current topics. Each video is 7-9 minutes long. Individuals interested in increasing their legal literacy can use the videos separately as informational resources or together as an overview of material that is covered more comprehensively in the Public Health Law Academy’s full-length online trainings.”