Effective health systems are believed to be those that are founded on effective and efficient primary care delivery. Globally there has been an increase in demand for proper chronic care and as such necessitated a paradigm shift where health professionals have begun making considerations of incorporating chronic care treatment in the design of health system interventions.
Strategic Innovation for Community Health (STICH) was conceived to tackle the challenge of managing the rising incidences of chronic conditions and planning for chronic care under the community health umbrella. A shift of focus from intermittent acute care to developing long-term relationships between providers and people is necessary. STICH exists to guide healthcare management executives in the public and private sector on how to make this shift in an effective and innovative manner.STICH perceives innovation as a discipline and strives to equip leaders in healthcare system with the skills needed to conceptualise, design and implement new approaches to systems thinking to address the challenges of chronic care.
STICH begun in Abu Dhabi under the name Innovators for Community Wellness and has been offered in Kenya over the past two years under the new moniker. The programme targets senior healthcare managers and professionals in the public and private sectors with a view to changing and improving how they think about community health. I spoke to the STICH Programme Director, Stephen Chick, Professor of Technology and Operations Management at INSEAD about this programme. INSEAD is the implementing partner of the programme run by the Johnson & Johnson Corporate Citizenship Trust (JJCCT). Professor Chick’s role entails designing the programme with input from various stakeholders that include the AKU-SONAM EA Dean, JJCCT and other players in the public, private and NGO healthcare ecosystem. Additional roles include managing the admissions process, selecting faculty to teach in the programme, managing the programme implementation process and teaching alongside faculty to deliver the programme. According to Professor Chick, his experience in administration and teaching the programme is, “The participants have done some outstanding work. Each year we update the program to include examples of innovations and creative ways of thinking by past participants, as we try to keep in touch with them.”
On working with AKU-SONAM participants, he said, “Over the last three years, we have welcomed a number of participants from AKU-SONAM and I’m happy with the strong backgrounds and solid contributions from the AKU-SONAM participants through the in-class discussions during the programme. It has been a pleasure to work with the AKU-SONAM team.” When I asked him to share some more insight into STICH as a whole and the future of innovation in community health, he said, “The STICH programme has evolved since its inception in Abu Dhabi to its adaptation in Nairobi to focus on participants and the challenges faced in many sub-Saharan countries. The level of interest and activity in innovation has been outstanding, and we look forward to continuing to share and give voice to African innovations in health, and to help support the development of community health.”
This year, full time AKU-SONAM faculty members from Tanzania, Dr Tumbwene Mwansisya and Dr Eunice Siaity- Pallangyo participated in STICH together with Dr. Constance Shumba, AKU-SONAM adjunct faculty and AKF Global Advisor for Health and Nutrition. Their participation was made possible through the provision of scholarships by JJCCT. We are indebted to the trust for this kind gesture which goes a long way in enabling AKU-SONAM’s leaders to work creatively in community health settings.
In conclusion, Professor Brownie expressed her sincere gratitude for the programme by highlighting, “Effective community-based healthcare and educational delivery requires expert skills in innovation, leadership and management of change. The STICH programme delivers the very highest quality of executive development programme delivery in support of the development of young African leaders. Attendees from our AKU-SONAM have returned from the programme with significantly increased critical thinking and leadership capacities. The unique partnership between JJCCT and INSEAD which makes this possible, is highly valued.”
Thank you to the School of Nursing and Midwifery (SONAM) at Aga Khan University (AKU) for sharing this thought piece, and to Johnson & Johnson Global Community Impact for their support.
Interested in INSEAD's Strategic Innovation for Community Health programme? Have a look at the Strategic Innovation for Community Health web page.
Strategic Innovation for Community Health is the result of the Trust’s longstanding partnership with INSEAD to provide management education for healthcare professionals. INSEAD is a Flagship Partner within the Trust’s 2020 strategy and a key component of the Trust’s goal to advance knowledge and innovation in seeking to transform health care systems. The Trust works across the Europe, Middle East and Africa region in making a difference in human health through multiple social impact interventions. Currently within the Trust’s partnership portfolio there are over 70 active programmes run with partner organisations. For more information about the Trust and its activities, please visit www.jjcct.org
