Using a Concept Map as a Tool for Strategic Planning: The Healthy Brain Initiative || Preventing Chronic Disease: September 2011: 10_0255

TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

Using a Concept Map as a Tool for Strategic Planning: The Healthy Brain Initiative
Lynda A. Anderson, PhD; Kristine L. Day, MPH; Anna E. Vandenberg

Suggested citation for this article: Anderson LA, Day KL, Vandenberg AE. Using a concept map as a tool for strategic planning: The Healthy Brain Initiative. Prev Chronic Dis 2011;8(5):A117. http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2011/sep/10_0255.htm. Accessed [date].



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Abstract

Concept mapping is a tool to assist in strategic planning that allows planners to work through a sequence of phases to produce a conceptual framework. Although several studies describe how concept mapping is applied to various public health problems, the flexibility of the methods used in each phase of the process is often overlooked. If practitioners were more aware of the flexibility, more public health endeavors could benefit from using concept mapping as a tool for strategic planning.

The objective of this article is to describe how the 6 concept-mapping phases originally outlined by William Trochim guided our strategic planning process and how we adjusted the specific methods in the first 2 phases to meet the specialized needs and requirements to create The Healthy Brain Initiative: A National Public Health Road Map to Maintaining Cognitive Health. In the first stage (phases 1 and 2 of concept mapping), we formed a steering committee, convened 4 work groups over a period of 3 months, and generated an initial set of 42 action items grounded in science. In the second stage (phases 3 and 4), we engaged stakeholders in sorting and rating the action items and constructed a series of concept maps. In the third and final stage (phases 5 and 6), we examined and refined the action items and generated a final concept map consisting of 44 action items. We then selected the top 10 action items, and in 2007, we published The Healthy Brain Initiative: A National Public Health Road Map to Maintaining Cognitive Health, which represents the strategic plan for The Healthy Brain Initiative.

Acknowledgments


We acknowledge the contributions of Mary Kane, Catherine VanBrunschot, and Brenda K. Pepe for their outstanding work on implementing the concept-mapping components used in the Road Map project. We also thank Akiko Wilson for designing the figures.

Author Information

Corresponding Author: Lynda A. Anderson, PhD, Healthy Aging Program, Division of Adult and Community Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy, NE, MS K-38, Atlanta, GA 30341. Telephone: 770-488-5998. E-mail: laa0@cdc.gov. Dr Anderson is also affiliated with the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.

Author Affiliations: Kristine L. Day and Anna E. Vandenberg, Healthy Aging Program, Division of Adult and Community Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.

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Preventing Chronic Disease: September 2011: 10_0255