Addressing Precarious Work Through Policy and Systems Change: A Case of a Local Health Department, University, and Worker Center Collaboration in Suburban Cook County, IL

Context: Precarious employment is a social determinant of health, impacting an increasing number of workers. Cross-sectoral, multilevel initiatives (eg organizational, community, and systems) that address upstream policy, systems, and environmental changes have demonstrated impact for improving worker health and wellness through addressing social determinants of health-like precarious employment. The Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH), such as other health departments, had not historically focused on prioritizing healthy work despite acknowledging it as an important social determinant of health. Program: Through the Healthy Work Collaborative (HWC), a capacity building initiative launched by the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) Center for Healthy Work in 2017, CCDPH partnered with Centro de Trabajadores Unidos (CTU) and Arise Chicago, and later with Chicago Workers Collaborative (CWC). These are worker centers who organize and advocate for policy changes to increase standards for all workers. The purpose of this evaluation is to describe the lessons learned about facilitating successful collaboration for policy, systems, and environmental change. Implementation: These organizations worked together from the time of the HWC’s first phase of in-person planning and training sessions through later phases of HWC funding and beyond. Evaluation: Interview and focus group data were examined to identify lessons learned for the partnership, yielding the following: (1) Commitments to equity and justice provided the foundation for a common agenda and complementary roles; (2) Creativity and openness facilitated novel ways to engage and expand areas of work; (3) Strong relationships, supported by humility, provided a foundation for collaboration; (4) Having clearly defined goals, objectives, and a work plan facilitated focused progress and flexibility; and (5) Systems thinking and strategic planning supported implementation and sustainability. Discussion: The CCDPH-CTU-Arise-CWC-UIC partnership can serve as a powerful illustration of how public health, together with partners, can position itself to address precarious employment through policy, systems, and environmental change.