Strengthening Local Public Health Leadership through Capacity Building: Insights from the Leaders in Health Program

Abstract

Local public health leaders, including community-based practitioners and local public health agencies, are integral to the public health workforce, playing a critical role in the planning and delivery of community-based public health initiatives. While capacity building programs are widely recognized as essential to strengthening the workforce and promoting evidence-based interventions, less is known about how these programs contribute to leadership development in public health. This thesis examines the impact of Leaders in Health (LIH), a cohort-based public health capacity building program designed to strengthen community health initiatives by equipping participants with foundational skills in public health research and community-engaged approaches, while supporting the application of this learning to ongoing work. Utilizing a qualitative approach, this evaluation draws on in-depth interviews with LIH alumni, teaching fellows, and program co-directors to understand 1) how alumni leverage LIH training to advance their public health priorities and 2) how LIH supports alumni in the development and application of key leadership skills in public health. Findings demonstrate that LIH links capacity building and leadership development by strengthening participants’ existing leadership capacity and supporting a more strategic, relational, and systems-oriented approach to advancing their community-based public health efforts. LIH strengthens applied public health leadership by building foundational knowledge and skills which enhance participant confidence and shape how alumni lead their public health initiatives. Secondly, it fosters community-centered practice by emphasizing collaboration, network-building, and participatory approaches that center community voice. Finally, LIH shapes participants’ professional trajectories and helps reframe their work through a public health lens, making explicit how their existing priorities and initiatives contribute to the broader public health system. By centering lived experience of LIH participants, this thesis offers practice-relevant insights into how capacity building programs function as pathways for further developing public health leadership among local leaders. Ultimately, these findings underscore the potential of capacity building programs to further cultivate leadership that advances community-driven public health initiatives, contributing to more strategic and responsive local public health systems.