key: cord-0947103-ik5ou1t0
authors: Nittas, Vasileios; Buitrago-Garcia, Diana; Chetty-Mhlanga, Shala; Grimm, Pauline Yongeun; Guerra, Germán; Patel, Chandni; Raguindin, Peter Francis
title: Future public health governance: investing in young professionals
date: 2020-11-03
journal: Int J Public Health
DOI: 10.1007/s00038-020-01521-0
sha: 8a57e7f36825ab7ca41027e6fcaf5102dddf017e
doc_id: 947103
cord_uid: ik5ou1t0

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formulating arguments and defending them, communicating them to others, and effectively expressing opinions, all of which are essential elements of good leadership. Second, we argue for collaborations, especially across disciplines and from an early stage on, allowing young public health professionals to develop much needed interpersonal skills and broaden their horizons. We especially argue for collaborations across fields that traditionally tend to miscommunicate, e.g., science and policymaking (Wellstead et al. 2018) . In public health, it is essential to understand the value of dialogue, partnership, and cooperation. Future public health leaders must be able to work productively with communities, stakeholders, and interest groups, allowing them to leave their professional boundaries and build partnerships. Third, we must invest in building capacity to translate knowledge and communicate risks to interest groups, stakeholders, and the general population.

Public health is all about collective action, and collective cannot be achieved without communication. Finally, we argue for more training opportunities available to young public health professionals, targeting future-oriented and transferable skills like critical thinking and conceptual reasoning.

A good example of such an investment is the International Journal of Public Health Young Researcher Editorial (YRE) series. It was launched in 2018 and is designed to give this new generation of public health experts a voice by sharing their views in an environment in which less wellestablished and renowned researchers are often overlooked (Berger and Künzli 2018) . The YRE also aims to encourage young public health researchers to develop their academic writing, communication, and collaboration skills.

Since its establishment, it has published ten high-quality editorials across five countries, addressing a broad array of topics, from vaccinations to palliative care, aging, digital health, and nutrition. It is autonomously led by a team of young researchers, for young researchers, acting as a training platform that serves all the investments mentioned above. It fosters decision-making, empowers collaborations, fosters communication skills, and facilitates transferable skills. The YRE will continue to invest in the public health leaders of tomorrow, especially those in underrepresented communities and resource-limited settings while fostering diversity of opinions across a broad range of topics that cover all facets of the ever-changing public health ecosystem. We would like to see more institutions do the same.

Welcome to the third training pillar of IJPH: young researcher editorials

Current and future public health challenges

The digitization of healthcare: new challenges and opportunities