Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #121289

Jay V. Schindler, PhD, MPH, CHES, Northrop Grumman, 3131 N Druid Hills Road, Apt #4307, Decatur, GA 30033, 541.737.3830, jvs4@cdc.gov

Communities of practice are considered one of the most effective knowledge management strategies used in corporate environments, and are helpful for identifying best practices, building social work environments, sharing expertise across subunits of an agency, and generating useful archives of resources. This presentation provides an overview of the initiatives, efforts, successes, and challenges of creating an organizational infrastructure within a corporate environment that conducts public health and informatics interventions. We will explore the impact the formation of communities of practice have had on the efforts to support public health activities, and document the successes public health practitioners experienced using communities of practice approaches in their complex work environment. We will share the policies and protocols incorporated into the corporate infrastructure that were used to create, sustain, and evaluate the effectiveness of these communities.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will be able to describe the fundamental characteristics of a Community of Practice, how these distinguish it from a work team or committee, and how such communities enhance public health practice.
• Participants will be able to list the components of a useful corporate infrastructure that supports and cultivates Communities of Practice, and identify the major issues and problems that often prevent their successful implementation.
• Participants will be able to outline the steps and stages for successful implementation of creation, cultivation, and evaluation of Communities of Practice efforts.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation