Leadership in Public Health | Case Study

Running head: LEADERSHIP IN PUBLIC HEALTH 1
Leadership in Public Health
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LEADERSHIP IN PUBLIC HEALTH 2
Introduction
Helen is a newly elected public health officer in Warnambool Victoria. Initially,
Hellen worked as a general practitioner who was committed to making sure enough
awareness is created on the importance of child immunization and cancer screening in the
local town, as this is the significant public health sector that was affecting the residents. Her
clear mandate was to make sure that there is empowerment and creating awareness in the
community. Hellen is very much aware of the setbacks that she may be faced with, including
that of dealing with a patriarchal society that depends on traditions very much. One of
Helen's big concern is the lack of a specialist's care in the local town. Locals have had to
travel for long distances to access medical care from a specialist. As a result, Halen has been
looking for a way out of this mess unsuccessfully due to some cultural setbacks.
The Australian Health Leadership Framework
Several public health theories are applicable in Helen's case. The most significant
being personal, civic leadership theory; In this theory, the traits and skills necessary to make
one a public health leader are considered (Seibert et al. 2017). Other methods include the trait
theory, the transformational theories, leadership-member exchange theory, and adaptive
leadership. According to the Australian health leadership framework, health leaders are faced
with some significant tasks to strive and improve clinical and quality of life and health
system. The quality of leadership influences the quality of healthcare provided.
In Helen's case, the trait theory is the most applicable as it is the ultimate reason as to
her nomination. The scenario draws Helen as a compassionate and caring person who is
interested in making lives better. She is focused on the primary care of the individuals and the
creation of awareness. Her mandate revolves around promoting a healthy community and

LEADERSHIP IN PUBLIC HEALTH 3
population, contrary to the many health practitioners whose principal aim is the primary
health of individuals. In dispositional theory, the habits, thoughts, and behaviors are taken
into consideration (Fernandez et al. 2017). According to this definition, the real traits of
Helen are not clear; however, the case scenario tells us that Helen is a kind and optimistic
practitioner. Different medical leaders have different qualities and leadership styles. For
example, various leaders may take different approaches to different situations. However,
some traits cannot be substituted in public health while someone is a medical practitioner
(Arifah et al. 2019). Helen is an introvert leader who has not been interacting with the senior
citizens in her area; this has made it a little difficult for her to deal with the skepticism from
policymakers. Some government stakeholders and citizens feel that she is too young to take
up duty as a public health leader.
The second theory is the transformational theory. Transformational leadership is one
where the leader collaborates with the locals or the community to achieve the goals, identify
changes that should be done, and creating a vision for the people they are leading (Gilson &
Agyepong, 2018). In Helen's case, it will be a difficult task to work with the government and
citizens in Warnambool. The number of parents taking kids for immunization and the number
of people going for cancer screening. This shows that Helen is the right person for the public
health leader because she can influence and educate people in the neighborhood very well.
She will, however, be required to work with the senior citizens, the government, and the
community at large. In transformational leadership, the leader must work to enhance
motivation and uses some mechanisms to improve the performance of workers who answer
directly to her.
In leadership, member exchange (LMX) theory is based on a belief that a healthy
relationship between a leader, his workers, and followers will bring a positive effect to the