Strengthening capacity for public health leadership and decision-making: the contribution of case-based learning

COVID-19 Research Area(s): Politics, Governance & Law

The COVID-19 pandemic has refocused attention on the capacities and performance of public health systems. Our research group at UBC has studied how public health systems and decision-makers are organized and how they interact to produce and implement policies in response to public health crises. Our approach is particularly focused on the effect of institutions, politics, public health system organization, and governance (IPOG) on the response to COVID-19.

This research project aims to strengthen the decision-making capacities of public health trainees by using the IPOG framework to develop teaching cases that will enhance trainees' skills in navigating organizational and political factors that influence the response to a public health crisis

This project will generate new knowledge outlining the competency gaps in public health training programs in Canada with respect to the role of institutions, politics, organization of public health, and governance in developing and implementing a response to a public health crisis. To address these competency gaps, four teaching cases will be developed for use in public health training programs across the country.