ADVANCEMENT OF THE PRACTICE
Open Access
DIRECT FROM AAS
Fostering Creativity and Innovation in Environmental Health
A recent report highlights that 70% of employers now consider creative think- ing as the most essential skill within their sta (Wells, 2024). Using creative thinking, developing novel approaches, adapting to change, and integrating new technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, robotics, predic- tive analytics) are crucial for the modern and future environmental health professional. By nurturing innovation in our execution of environmental health, we can ensure that our profession remains resilient and forward- focused, ready to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. Encouraging Creative Thinking and Problem-Solving Everyone on your team should feel they can oer suggestions or solutions to known or unknown issues. This practice can provide the team members with confidence and own- ership in the program. There are many ways to foster a culture of creativity among your team, but one that has been adopted by many public health agen- cies over the past decade is quality improve- ment. Quality improvement promotes a col- laborative decision-making process within a team instead of a top-down approach where management makes the decision and informs the team of what is to be done. Since quality improvement is part of standards set forth by the Public Health Accreditation Board, many of you are already familiar with it (National Association of County and City Health O- cials [NACCHO], 2024). The basis of quality improvement is PDCA: Plan, do, check, act. A problem is found, your team develops a plan, a small- scale pilot project is done, the results are checked, and if the plan worked, it is fully
Editor’s Note: In an eort to provide environmental health profes- sionals with relevant information and tools to further the profession, their careers, and themselves, the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) has teamed up with the American Academy of Sanitarians (AAS) to publish two columns a year in the Journal . AAS is an organization that “elevates the standards, improves the practice, advances the professional proficiency, and promotes the highest levels of ethical conduct among professional sanitarians in every field of environmental health.” Membership with AAS is based on meeting certain high standards and criteria, and AAS members represent a prestigious list of environmental health professionals from across the country. Through the column, information from dierent AAS members who are subject-matter expects with knowledge and experience in a multitude of environmental health topics will be presented to the Journal’s readership. The conclusions and opinions of this column are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of NEHA.
I n the ever-changing field of environmen- tal health, creativity and innovation are paramount to advancing practice and addressing the myriad challenges we face every day. Our profession is multifaceted and fast-paced, dealing with issues ranging from emerging and reemerging diseases, food safety, waste management, climate impacts, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl sub- stances (PFAS) contamination, just to name a few. As environmental health profession- als, we are tasked with protecting our com- munities while often burdened with limited resources, reduced funding, sta reductions, and expanding regulatory responsibilities. To navigate these complexities, fostering an innovative workplace and encouraging cre- ativity is essential. By doing so, we can re-
main flexible and eectively tackle the wide range of challenges before us. Creativity in environmental health is not flu—it is about envisioning and implement- ing novel solutions to persistent problems. Innovation and creativity can enhance pro- ductivity, encourage collaboration, and lay the groundwork for new solutions. (Massie, 2024). For instance, during the recent pandemic, environmental health professionals across the nation adapted quickly by initiating innovative approaches to maintain environmental health services. (Bare et al., 2021). This adaptability underscores the need for environmental health professionals to be systems thinkers, problem solvers, risk communicators, and generalists, capable of delivering essential health services across various programs (Brooks et al., 2019).
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Volume 87 • Number 5
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