Tackling Wicked Problems in Healthy Public Policy

This webinar is part of a series of webinars organized by the National Collaborating Centres for Public Health in collaboration with the Public Health Physicians of Canada. It will consist of a presentation that includes the opportunity for participants to interact with the presenter and with each other as well as a final question and discussion period.

The term 'wicked problems' is increasingly used to describe a particularly complex type of problem that is difficult, persistent, and resistant to solution. Frequently encountered in both public health and public policy, wicked problems present a high level of difficulty because, among other things, they are often intertwined with other complex problems. Health inequalities are a good example because they can be linked to a number of other issues such as income, education and/or race and ethnicity, to name a few. These types of problems are not easily solved with traditional approaches and require context-specific actions that take this complexity into account..

By the end of this webinar, participants should be able to:

• Understand the origins and usefulness of the concept of wicked problems.
  
• Define wicked problems and distinguish them from other types of problems.
  
• Recognize the importance of dealing with wicked problems in ways that emphasize collaboration, dialogue, and shared understanding.
  
• Find resources to learn more about different practical approaches to wicked problems
  

Understanding wicked problems can be useful for advancing public health physicians' competencies in these domains:

• Policy, planning & program development
  
• Communication, collaboration & advocacy for the public's health
  
• Leadership and management