Press Releases

In response to recent, industry-led calls to strengthen and transform public health practices in the United States, the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors President Mehul Dalal, M.D., M.Sc. M.H.S. announces the professional development podcast series, “Learn, Lead and Thrive: A Leadership and Management Challenge.” The series supports the Association’s more than 6,500 members as they address worker attrition and foster stronger leadership skills among their staff.

ATLANTA, GA (PRWEB) JULY 20, 2017
“Learn, Lead and Thrive” Public Health Leadership Podcast Series Launches: Series Supports Development of the Next Generation of Public Health Professionals

In response to recent, industry-led calls to strengthen and transform public health practices in the United States, the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors President Mehul Dalal, M.D., M.Sc. M.H.S. announces the professional development podcast series, “Learn, Lead and Thrive: A Leadership and Management Challenge.” The series supports the Association’s more than 6,500 members as they address worker attrition and foster stronger leadership skills among their staff.

“As the American population ages and healthcare costs rise, chronic diseases are no longer simply an individual health challenge—they threaten the economic prosperity of our nation,” said Dr. Dalal. “Businesses, communities, and our government are increasingly looking at cost-effective ways to keep people healthy and avoid preventable illness, disability, and death. NACDD works to ensure that a strong, national cohort of skilled professionals is ready to help everyone lead healthier lives.”

Dr. Dalal and NACDD Members are concerned by industry studies suggesting that the public health workforce is aging more rapidly than other industries—the average age of a public health professional is 47, nearly seven years older than the average American worker. And as many as 45 percent of the public health workforce could retire during the next five years. Dr. Dalal and the Association believe this attrition could result in a significant loss in our nation’s ability to implement evidence-based approaches to chronic disease prevention and control, and health promotion.

To grow staffing pipelines to support public health, Dr. Dalal said it is critical to support current public health leaders — who make up the majority of NACDD’s Members — by providing tools and resources to help them understand and implement best practices in management concepts and techniques.

The “Learn, Lead and Thrive: A Leadership and Management Challenge” podcast series features experts from NACDD Membership covering topics such as building effective teams, leading through change, and finding meaning in work.

“We have taken special care to make sure that the resources we provide are convenient, credible, relevant, and most importantly, actionable,” Dr. Dalal said.

All six episodes are approximately 30 minutes in length and are available for download now on NACDD’s website, iTunes, and on SoundCloud:

Succession Planning: Dr. Dalal speaks with Dr. Jeanne Alongi, an NACDD leadership expert, on the key findings from a broad survey of the public health national work force, including underexplored issues related to workforce diversity and competency needs.

Public Health Leadership Challenges for the 21st Century: Dr. Dalal speaks with Dr. Ursula Bauer, director of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about public health’s leadership legacy and a different way to think about leadership for managers.
Administrative Evidence-Based Practices: Dr. Dalal speaks with Dr. Ross Brownson, Bernard Becker Professor of Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis and co-director of the Prevention Research Center, about peer-reviewed research on the kinds of characteristics that can make health departments more effective and the tools that can support this transformation.

Leading Through Change and Disruption: Dr. Dalal speaks with Dr. Mark Lipton, a professor at the New School, about leaders handling disruption in the private sector and the ways in which leaders can survive and succeed when facing ambiguity and managing uncertainty.
Job Crafting: Dr. Dalal speaks with Dr. Amy Wrzesniewski, professor of Organizational Behavior at the Yale School of Management, on the concept of job crafting and how it ties to vital aspects about our personal relationship with our work, including practical strategies to improve job satisfaction.

Representational Groups: Dr. Dalal speaks with Dr. David Berg, a clinical professor of Psychiatry and an organizational psychologist with the Yale School of Medicine, about how coordinated chronic disease work and coalition work, in general, can be impacted by the behavior of representative groups and their dynamics.

NACDD and Dr. Dalal invite public health professionals to join in the conversation about the future of leadership in chronic disease prevention on Twitter @NACDDinfo using the hashtag #PublicHealthLeads.
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National Association of Chronic Disease Directors
https://www.chronicdisease.org
The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) and its more than 6,500 members seek to improve the health of the public by strengthening leadership and expertise for chronic disease prevention and control in states, territories, and at the national level. Established in 1988, in partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the NACDD is the only membership association of its kind serving and representing every state and U.S. territory’s chronic disease division.