Category: Books

At Billings Clinic in Billings Montana, healthcare associated infections plunged when all members of the organization – nurses, physicians, housekeepers, food servers, therapists, and executives – joined a collaborative effort that allowed each person to contribute to the cause of saving lives and preventing suffering. The initiative was based on Positive Deviance, the organizational and behavioral change strategy that enables communities to discover and amplify the things that are already working and devise new solutions tailored to their own specific work environments. In the process, they improved patient safety, developed healthy human networks that increased cooperation, enhanced harmonious workplace relationships and inspired continual commitment to a culture of high quality care.

Promotion of healthy behaviors and prevention of disease are inextricably linked to cultural understandings of health and well-being. Health communication scholarship and practice can substantially and strategically contribute to people living safer, healthier, and happier lives. This book represents a concrete step in that direction by establishing a strategic framework for guiding global and local health practices. Taking a multi-disciplinary approach, the volume includes state-of-the-art theories that can be applied to health communication interventions and practical guidelines about how to design, implement, and evaluate effective health communication interventions.
Few books have synthesized such a broad range of theories and strategies of health communication that are applicable globally, and also provided clear advice about how to apply such strategies. This volume combines academic research and field experience, guided by past and future research agendas and on-the-ground implementation opportunities.

Positive Deviance (PD) is an approach to social change that enables communities and organizations to discover the wisdom they already have, and then to act on it. The premise of PD is that in every community there are certain individuals or groups whose uncommon practices or strategies enable them to find better solutions to problems than neighbors and peers who have access to the same resources. PD is led by people in the community who help identify and spread the successful practices. Ideas for change are more likely to be accepted and adopted when they are based on existing local wisdom than they are when outside exports try to impose them. This book tells the remarkable story of how a people-centered approach to organizational and social change, accompanied by sound scientific and technical expertise, yielded positive quality outcomes for ordinary citizens, health care institutions and their patients, and society in general. This work draws upon the collective wisdom and experience of infection control practitioners, doctors, public health authorities, nurses, social and organizational change practitioners, health care administrators, patients and front line workers. Additional benefits of use of the PD process to fight infection turned out to be improved workplace relationships, Positive Deviance (PD) is an approach to social change that enables communities and organizations to discover the wisdom they already have, and then to act on it. The premise of PD is that in every community there are certain individuals or groups whose uncommon practices or strategies enable them to find better solutions to problems than neighbors and peers who have access to the same resources. PD is led by people in the community who help identify and spread the successful practices. Ideas for change are more likely to be accepted and adopted when they are based on existing local wisdom than they are when outside exports try to impose them. This book tells the remarkable story of how a people-centered approach to organizational and social change, accompanied by sound scientific and technical expertise, yielded positive quality outcomes for ordinary citizens, health care institutions and their patients, and society in general. This work draws upon the collective wisdom and experience of infection control practitioners, doctors, public health authorities, nurses, social and organizational change practitioners, health care administrators, patients and front line workers. Additional benefits of use of the PD process to fight infection turned out to be improved workplace relationships, healthier and more resilient organizational cultures, and expanded networks of people in many fields and geographical locations who shared ideas, resources and the inspiration of their own contributions to saving lives.