Table 2 Coding guide and sample coded text
Code | Definition | Sample Text |
|---|---|---|
Barriers | Challenges or obstacles encountered by the participant | “I think it can be overwhelming to think about how much you have to bring in to solving a problem” |
Crossing Sectors and Silos | Practices or approaches that cross boundaries/jurisdictions of sectors, organizations, or other silos | “I would say that each project has a core group of stakeholders – that group of stakeholders is rarely within the context of one discipline or one sector” |
Environment | Discussion of the environment - defining it, environmental health issues, its connection to public health | “It’s kind of a systems focus on how changing one piece changes all of those nested hierarchies of environments that are sitting within each other” |
Equity | Discussion of issues of equity especially around health | “Photovoice was a really powerful way of hearing the most vulnerable within our community. And really engaging them as well. Not just hearing them but helping them to develop skills and advocacy” |
Governance | Discussion of current and possible models of governance, and their implications to public health | “So there are a lot of times, as a community our hands are tied […] So sometimes we can’t do anything because of bureaucracy” |
Health | Discussion of health - defining it, important health issues | “if we’re focusing on human health and well-being, often we forget about broader ecosystem and ecological issues […] sustainability issues, energy” |
Important Need | An identified need or important issue for public health practice | “a real recognition that we need to reach out to stakeholders and other jurisdictions if we have a broader systems based approach and learn how to work with them and learn how to bring them into the tent“ |
Indicators | Discussion around measurement tools or indicators for health | “People across North America have been struggling with this idea about how do you develop indicators for a so-called healthy food system or community food security” |
Methods | Discussion of innovative or interesting approaches in public health | “deliberative policy analysis […] it’s the idea that through reflection and deliberation on policy issues, we actually develop some policy learning and that’s what can move change forward” |
Participatory Approaches | Discussion of participatory approaches in public health practice. Also includes peer research, community-based research, community engagement and community involvement. | “Community engagement - how do we have those conversations with community members for them to understand and be a part of this process?” |
Perspectives, Context | Discussion of other perspectives or other contexts, and their role in public health. | “What we’re really trying to do is to have those sectors that we haven’t traditionally partnered with. I think traditionally […] we’ve had like-minded people at the table and so those people who have a different point of view from us, not necessarily are we hearing their voices” |
Support System | Support systems or facilitators for the work of the participant. | “There’s been lots of support definitely within the community” |
Sustainability | Discussion of sustainability, self-sustaining systems, or visioning for the future. | “So what are we doing to our biophysical environment both in terms of resource use, resource extraction? So how much are we consuming that we are taking away from future generations?” |
Systems Thinking | Consideration of smaller/larger systems, drawing connections, recognizing nested scales | “a broader understanding that if you’re thinking from an ecosystem perspective, if you’re changing something in any of those environments, it’s going to affect what’s happening in the others” |
Inter- or Transdisciplinary Practices | Practices which engage multiple disciplines and/or transcends disciplinary thinking to explore different types of knowledge and ways of knowing | “It’s a wide variety of evidence. It’s qualitative and quantitative. It’s peer-reviewed literature but also policy literature […], it includes stakeholder perspectives on the issue, it includes gathering evidence about the experience of jurisdictions“ |