M10 Organizational Change Paper - Assignment Example

Organizational Change Organizational Change Smith, L., Johnson, D., Lamson, E & Sitaker, M. (2006). A framework for developing evaluation tools used in Washington State’s healthy communities project. Tools & Techniques, 3 (2). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2006/apr/05_0097.htmArticle Summary Research has identified the need for public health practitioners to collaborate with other members of the community in developing policies that impact on community well-being. Involvement of the community in the development and implementation of healthcare community policies provides the much need support for policies to have the intended impact on the community.

Community coalition is particularly identified as crucial in garnering support for policies seeking to promote improved health and health behavioral changes among the community members. According to Smith, Johnson, Lamson and Sitaker (2006), the success of policies and environmental change initiatives driven by public health practitioners is influenced by several factors including community collaboration, sufficient support or endorsement by community leaders or decision makers and inclusion of actions or activities aimed at benefiting the community as a whole.

On the other hand, realization of community collaboration and support is depended on several issues including development of trust, values and norms to guide the collaboration, and effective exploitation of existing social networks to establish impeccable social relationships (Smith, Johnson, Lamson & Sitaker, 2006). Public health practitioners must strive to work closely with the community members at the various levels in order to realize their roles in promoting and upholding improved community health.

The need for community collaboration in the development and implementation of community policy has been demonstrated through attempts by the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) to address community health problems such as obesity and overweight through both community based and state policies. Evaluation of community-based health policies initiated by DOH among the Moses Lake and Mount Vernon communities reveals that there is need for enhanced community collaboration in the implementation of such policies (Smith, Johnson, Lamson & Sitaker, 2006).

Minority communities such as Hispanics were significantly misrepresented in committees involved in the development and implementation of health policies affecting the communities. The community health group model is identified as crucial to public health practitioners because application of the model guarantees enhanced community involvement, and participation in driving health and environmental changes. Community partnership, involvement and participation emerge as key determinants in the success of community and environmental change policies at both the community level and the state level.

According to Smith, Johnson, Lamson and Sitaker (2006), community partnership can be realized through community diversity representation and promotion of accountability throughout the community and public health practitioners’ collaboration.Constructs of the Community Coalition Action Theory Addressed in this Article This article addresses the community construct context in which the study identifies contextual factors that influence the effectiveness of community coalition or partnership such social, political and environmental factors.

Community collaboration is identified by the study to be influenced by external factors such as the social networks, norms and values of the target social group (Smith, Johnson, Lamson & Sitaker, 2006). The Lead Agency or convener construct is also addressed in this study in which community decision makers are recognized as crucial in facilitating community participation in public health promotion programs. Communities require representative in the making of policies affecting them so that they can feel part of the policies or the programs.

The coalition core membership is further addressed in this study with community leaders or decision makers emerging as the negotiators on behalf of the community and determines the willingness of the community to collaborate with the public health practitioners (Smith, Johnson, Lamson & Sitaker, 2006). The study further addresses the leadership construct in which an individual or a selected group must arise and play leadership role in the community in order for effective coalitions to be constituted.

The study also covers the issue of assessment and planning where the success of public health programs is highly depended on proper assessment and planning with community being involved in every of these processes. The other construct for the theory covered within the study include implementation of strategies in which the strategies applied in the implementation of the obesity and overweigh prevention programs are evaluated to determine community involvement (Smith, Johnson, Lamson & Sitaker, 2006).

Finally the community capacity construct is well addressed in this study through the emphasis on social capital, social networks, values and norms as major influential factors in community coalition effectiveness. ReferencesSmith, L., Johnson, D., Lamson, E & Sitaker, M. (2006). A framework for developing evaluation tools used in Washington State’s healthy communities project. Tools & Techniques, 3 (2). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2006/apr/05_0097.htm