Does leadership training make a difference? The CDC/UC Public Health Leadership Institute: 1991-1999.

Public health leadership development programs have proliferated since the release of the Institute of Medicine's call for strengthened public health leadership. Little has been documented, however, about the impact of these programs. This article presents results of an eight-year retrospective evaluation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/University of California Public Health Leadership Institute, the nation's first year-long leadership development program serving senior public health leaders. Results show that this program has had a positive impact on participants' leadership effectiveness at the personal, organizational, and community levels as well as on the field of public health.