Public health isn't a systems business

Well, did that title catch you off guard?

It might not be something you’d expect me to say - me, someone who has drunk the “systems change” Kool-aid from way back in my undergrad engineering days throughout my public health training and into launching PoP Health (where our entire mission is to work with community coalitions to transform health through systems change).

But at a conference a few months ago, I heard someone say something that has really stuck with me because of how unexpected yet true it is: Public health is a people business cleverly disguised as a systems business.

Systems only move when PEOPLE move. So as leaders of community coalitions, we all need to build our PEOPLE strategy, not just our systems change strategy.

This is why we’re heading into 2026 with a new special series of Community Threads, focused on public health as a people business.

Because systems don’t change if people aren’t bought in.

Because systems don’t change if people aren’t champions for that change.

Because systems don’t change if we don’t plan for people moving into and out of leadership.

Because systems don’t change if we don’t treat people like people.

Because systems don’t change if we aren’t real with people.

We’ll be sharing more on each of these points over the next couple months. Please join the conversation, and forward this on to friends and colleagues - especially those who lead community coalitions! - who might be interested (if you got this email forwarded to you, you can subscribe to Community Threads here so you don’t miss getting this series straight to your inbox!).

What do you think? In what ways do you see public health as a people business? In what ways do you see public health as a systems business? Drop me a note and let me know!

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