Today's public health problems are markedly different from those of a century ago and the risk factors are far more complex and systemic. While communicable diseases remain a problem, they have been overtaken by conditions linked to urban technological societies, such as obesity-related diseases and depression. To date, public health services have been singularly unsuccessful in modifying the new risk factors. Public health has to look at its tool kit and the work out where its tools can make a difference. Firstly, the tools.
Public health has a set of core competencies, some historical, some new.
These competencies must be explicitly recognised before they can be engaged in a strategy to bring about change. It is by leveraging core competencies that an organisation adds value in its interaction with stakeholders and customers. If an organisation does not know its own competencies it does not know how it can add value. A core competency covers a wide variety of knowledge and skill areas, for example, relationship management, supply line management, niche technology or niche marketing could all be core competencies. Many of the small public health services through New Zealand do not have the critical mass to develop these core competencies into active marketable capabilities but the root training has still been undertaken.