Improving Population Health

Locally Customized Population Health Policy Packages?

By David A. Kindig, MD, PhD

In my last post I suggested that those who allocate resources must provide ample guidance to ensure that local level health improvement strategies actually align with the best available evidence. I mentioned the University of Wisconsin What Works data base as well as the approach that the previous administration allocated its State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) resources in the state of Minnesota. But I indicated that What Works is not tailored to individual communities and that the Minnesota example is limited to health behavior interventions, not all population health determinants.

We know from the County Health Rankings and our own experiences that communities vary widely in both their health outcomes and the factors or determinants of those outcomes. There are many examples of both high and low ranking counties which vary on their determinant profile…some have high health care quality and access but poor behaviors, others have high social factors like education and income but poor air and water quality. Given limited resources, it is critical that investments be made carefully to have the most impact.

Would it be helpful to identify a set of Population Health Policy Packages that suggest the best options for local communities to make, given their outcomes and health determinants profile? 

Gone Fishing

Please stay tuned for a new post next week!

Can Policy Models be Helpful to Local Decision Makers?

By David A. Kindig, MD, PhD

Two recent posts have featured population health policy models (see Modeling Long Run Population Health Costs and Outcomes and A Population Health Opportunity Map). Such models will be increasingly important as we strive to effectively allocate resources appropriately across sectors to improve overall health outcomes and improve health equity. But to those in the local trenches, particularly in a time of resource reductions, models may seem abstract and irrelevant. What do we know NOW that can help communities make the best decisions possible in these challenging times? Can top down models or tools be helpful to communities looking for bottom up solutions?

A Population Health Opportunity Map

By David A. Kindig, MD, PhD

A commentary in the May 25 JAMA by Jonathan Fielding and Steve Teutsch caught my eye a couple of months ago. Both authors play influential roles in national population health policy, from their practice based experiences in the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

They begin by arguing that as we reform the health CARE system, complementary improvements are needed in community prevention programs and policies as well. The challenge for both national and local policy makers is to be able to “identify and implement those interventions that provide the greatest benefits and value,” including the relative effectiveness of both clinical and community prevention efforts. They suggest that a first step has to be a sound framework for “identifying and organizing” the universe of interventions which have been shown to have evidence of effectiveness.

Pop Health Twitter Roundup (8/9/11)

The latest and greatest from @PopHealth:

• New article in British Medical Journal uses Health Impact Assessment to analyze urban bicycle sharing program

• First-Ever National Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Standards Developed for Afterschool Programs

• How does education affect your community? Check out the United Way's new Common Good Forecaster to find out

• This fall, all 34,000 Cincinnati Public School students will have daily access to a school salad bar

• NYT "Well": Friendly Workplace Linked to Longer Life

• Ample Harvest is making fresh produce available to more than 4,000 food pantries across the US

• Check out the new Health Wonk Review blog carnival hosted by Joe Paduda at Managed Care Matters

• From Washington Post: Towns change programs, enlarge street signs to adapt to an older population

• Health Leads: Slashing the Price of Health with Common Sense from NYT columnist David Bornstein

• Weight, income, public food programs: A look at how the pounds add up

Population Health Eye on "Total Worker Health" in Lincoln, Nebraska

By Kirstin Q. Siemering, DrPH, RD

Lincoln Industries in Lincoln, Nebraska is the nation’s leading supplier of products requiring high performance metal finishing. The company was established in 1955 and employs over 400 people in an operation that runs 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

The company’s commitment to worker well-being has earned it widespread recognition. Lincoln Industries has been honored by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, the American Heart Association, Partners for Prevention, and others. The company has also been named one of the “25 Best Medium Companies to Work for in America” by the Great Place to Work Institute.

Pop Health Twitter Roundup (8/2/11)

 The latest and greatest from @PopHealth:

• Separate & Unequal: The Neighborhood Gap for Black, Hispanics, and Asians in Metropolitan America (via US2010 Project)

• Linking transportation policy & health -- new report from Partnership for Prevention

• New from the Commonwealth Fund: The U.S. Health System in Perspective: A Comparison of Twelve Industrialized Nations

• New Canadian report sees key role for social media: "Communicating the Social Determinants of Health"

• SAMHSA announces new approach to Prevention and Promotion, incl. grants specifically for tribes & tribal communities

• NYT "Fixes" columnist David Bornstein writes about "Treating the Cause, Not the Illness" in his piece on Health Leads

• Environmentalists laud automakers for prioritzing fuel economy as carmakers back strict new rules for gas mileage

• How a park helped one town weather the recession

• UC Berkeley journalism students offer USDA ideas for revamping food labels

• Almost 50% of U.S. health care spending will come from government coffers by 2020 says new report from Health Affairs