Leadership and effecting change in public health

Running head: REPORT WRITING
Leadership and effecting change in public health
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1REPORT WRITING
Table of Contents
Analysing the scenario...............................................................................................................2
Self-assessment..........................................................................................................................5
Reflection...................................................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................9

2REPORT WRITING
The concept of public health is associated with interdisciplinary cooperation and
services. Public health leaders have the responsibility of understanding systemic problems,
setting new directions, leading change and learning from past mistakes related to health and
social care. They are also entitled with the duty of connecting with others an encouraging the
latter to address inflexible health challenges (Rowitz, 2013).
Analysing the scenario
The current scenario discusses the role of Helen, a general practitioner as a public
health leader. The global health systems have been identified susceptible to a plethora of
challenges to an extent that might create significant barriers in the delivery of health services.
Helen has been selected for the role of a leader due to her success as a general practitioner.
Her job required her to demonstrate a broad medical knowledge regarding clinical expertise.
The Australian framework states that leadership in health has several similarities with other
industries and is principally recognized for the complexity of the purpose (HealthWorkforce
Australia, 2013). Health leaders should have the capability of striving for improving the
quality of clinical life indicators, in addition to the wellbeing of the service users. The
accolades earned by her during the stint at Warnambool for increasing rates of child
immunization made the board members hold the belief that she had the proficiency of
affecting individuals, their satisfaction and trust in the management. Furthermore, her efforts
in increasing the awareness for cancer screening programs also made her eligible for the role
of a public health leader that would require her to show a commitment towards healthcare
teams and individuals.
Some of the major challenges encountered in the healthcare system of Australia
include improving health outcomes for the indigenous people and other groups, maintaining a
balance between the chronic disease burden and development of primary healthcare,
addressing all financial pressures, and improving sustainability and distribution of the

3REPORT WRITING
workforce (HealthWorkforce Australia, 2013). An analysis of the current scenario suggests
that Helen had the directive of taking efforts to promote the health of the communities, and
focus on the overall health of the population. It can be deduced that the new role as a public
health leader has made Helen focus more on community health where she is working towards
the protection, maintenance and improvement in health status of the entire population, and
the community as a whole. Thus, she has appropriately adorned the role of a health leader by
taking efforts to sustain physical and emotional wellbeing among the community members in
a way that helps in advancing their aspirations and subsequently satisfying their needs in the
unique health environment (Sharma et al., 2013). Her success as a health leader can be
attributed to the efforts that she is taking for the promotion of a range of services such as,
housing, sanitation, and immunization and infection control. The role of a leader also focuses
on the ability to engage community members with a goal or vision, by explanations and
stories that are able to make a sense of the complex situation of healthcare (Popescu &
Predescu, 2016).
An effective leader should be able to empower others. However, this is considered as
a major challenge by Helen. Thus, it can be put forward that her stint in the community is
concomitant with Helen displaying a lack of the essence of leadership. In other words,
collaborative efforts must have been taken by Helen among the healthcare professionals,
community members, and faith-based institutions for improving the health outcomes of the
community. Her post as a public health leader needed her to provide clarity on why necessary
health strategies need to be adopted, what should the members expect from them, and the
expected health outcomes (HealthWorkforce Australia, 2013). However, she failed in making
the people gain a control over the major decisions and factors that shaped their health status.
One major role of a public health leader is to become culturally competent in the delivery of
appropriate healthcare services (Czabanowska et al., 2013). Helen is expected to have the