The Practical Playbook II: Building Multi-Sector Partnerships that Work ed. by J. L. Michener et al. (review)

The second edition of The Practical Playbook is not just an updated first edition. Rather, the editors collate a collection of case studies, expert opinion and tools to help interested leaders develop sustainable and meaningful collaborations across disciplines to improve population health outcomes. The Forwards by Dr. Sprague and Dr. McGinnis and the first chapter review the successes of the first edition in bringing together primary care and public health and how this highlighted the need to extend collaboration across disciplines. The goal of The Practical Playbook II is to provide tools and strategies that can be implemented across a wide variety of settings to improve population health outcomes, reduce health disparities and promote successful partnerships.

The Practical Playbook II is divided into eight sections with 50 chapters contributed by a wide variety of professionals, such as legislative officials, faith based leaders, physicians and public health experts. The first chapter of each section provides a brief summary and defines the important concepts and goals of the section.

Throughout the book, there are well-designed figures, “homework,” and shaded boxes with reflections, frameworks, questions to consider, and key points that provide succinct information for those engaging in cross-sector collaboration.

Section I introduces the concepts of health equity and cross-sector partnerships and gives examples of current initiatives addressing issues, such as housing and transportation. The authors discuss why “Corporate America” should lead the charge to improve the health of their communities and the importance of educating business leaders and including them in conversations. Reflections on changes in primary care and hospital systems due to focus on social determinants of health set the stage for the subsequent sections, which provide detail on how to engage stakeholders outside the health arena, including community health workers and community based organizations.

Section II digs deeper into what successful “community engagement” entails, and discusses elements of successful partnerships, focusing on community engagement principles (knowledge and involvement, feedback and input and community leadership). Former legislative officials discuss how to truly engage elected officials in crafting policy, government funding and scaling up of successful pilot programs. The helpful “10 Tips for Working with Elected Officials” discusses the importance of engagement, education and developing relationships. The description of “team based primary care” outlines steps (such as advocacy) that health care providers can take to improve population health outcomes. There are several case studies describing successful partnerships with faith-based organizations surrounding food insecurity and multi-sector collaboration with schools, community members and local governments to address mental health and suicide. A detailed description of developing an “Accountable Community for Health” discusses the shared responsibility of community health outcomes.

Section III provides insight into the importance of using data to help community health outcomes, and discusses “The Digital Bridge” approach to data sharing. Case studies discussing data use, accessing and utilizing local and aggregate data guide the novice, and processes for developing data sharing agreements and memorandums of understanding are detailed.

Section IV discusses innovation and thinking outside the box to develop collaborations with underused partners. The chapters define emerging, leading and prevailing practices and how to use plan–do–check–act cycles to continuously re-evaluate and refine interventions. Local innovation is seen as a way to address issues concurrently across systems. Viewing all policies and practices (not just policies involving health) as avenues for health promotion is stressed. Case studies illustrate successes and challenges in developing new programs. A particularly useful section details readiness questions for assessing an organization’s ability to implement upstream interventions to address social determinants of health.

Section V provides a readable overview of financing strategies for cross-sector initiatives and...