Improving Population Health

Coming Soon...The Roadmaps to Health Prize

By David A. Kindig MD, PhD and Kirstin Q. Siemering DrPH, RD

On April 3^rd 2012, the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute will make applications available for the inaugural Roadmaps to Health Prize. The Prize is part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded County Health Roadmaps project and will recognize communities across the U.S. that have successfully mobilized to improve population health.

Communities throughout the country are actively engaged in finding ways to increase the health and vitality of residents. The Roadmaps to Health Prize is rooted in the idea that every community is on a unique journey toward better health. The prize will honor the accomplishments of communities along the continuum of this journey, from those that have achieved tremendous success to those that have struggled against great odds and may just be beginning to see results.

The Roadmaps to Health Prize is a place-based prize that will honor whole communities (rather than individuals or individual organizations). All U.S. communities are eligible to apply. For the purposes of the prize, “communities” are defined as towns, cities, counties, regions (such as contiguous towns, cities, or counties), tribes, and tribal communities.

United Way as a Partner in Population Health Improvement

By Kitty Hsu Dana

United Way's mission is to advance the common good by mobilizing people and institutions to invest in Education, Financial Stability and Health, so that all people in all communities have the opportunity for a good quality of life.  With a network of more than 1,200 locally-based organizations in the United States and another 500 in other countries, United Way is transforming from its traditional fundraising role to work with diverse partners across the sectors to make sustainable change in communities through multiple roles, including:

1. Compiling and summarizing data and research
2. Engaging and convening stakeholders, community leaders, corporate partners, concerned individuals/organizations, and others
3. Clarifying and advancing specific policy initiatives, and
4. Realigning fundraising for specific community-identified initiatives, objectives and practices.

These roles are similar to the idea of a "backbone organization" and to David Kindig’s “Super Integrator” concept. This is not to say that United Way will always take the lead; we recognize that effective leadership can be at the front, in the middle, or from behind. Nor does it mean United Way acts alone. As a non-partisan convener, United Way ensures that all critical parties are engaged and play necessary roles to advance the common good.

A "Master Plan" for Population Health Improvement

By Kirstin Q. Siemering, DrPH, RD

Wikipedia defines "comprehensive planning" as:

 A term used in the United States by land use planners to describe a process that determines community goals and aspirations in terms of community development. The outcome of comprehensive planning is the Comprehensive Plan which dictates public policy in terms of transportation, utilities, land use, recreation, and housing. Comprehensive plans typically encompass large geographical areas, a broad range of topics, and cover a long-term time horizon.

Communities have been developing "Master Plans" to guide their long-range decision-making since the late 19^th century (notably, concern about sanitation and the spread of disease in urban areas was the major early impetus). Amherst, Massachusetts calls its new Master Plan -- its first in 40 years -- a "statement of community intent."