Population Health

The ability to see deeply affects how human beings perceive and interpret the world around them. For most people, eyesight is part of everyday communication, social activities, educational and professional pursuits, the care of others, and the maintenance of personal health, independence, and mobility. Functioning eyes and vision system can reduce an adult's risk of chronic health conditions, death, falls and injuries, social isolation, depression, and other psychological problems. In children, properly maintained eye and vision health contributes to a child's social development, academic achievement, and better health across the lifespan. The public generally recognizes its reliance on sight and fears its loss, but emphasis on eye and vision health, in general, has not been integrated into daily life to the same extent as other health promotion activities, such as teeth brushing; hand washing; physical and mental exercise; and various injury prevention behaviors. A larger population health approach is needed to engage a wide range of stakeholders in coordinated efforts that can sustain the scope of behavior change. The shaping of socioeconomic environments can eventually lead to new social norms that promote eye and vision health. Making Eye Health a Population Health Imperative: Vision for Tomorrow proposes a new population-centered framework to guide action and coordination among various, and sometimes competing, stakeholders in pursuit of improved eye and vision health and health equity in the United States. Building on the momentum of previous public health efforts, this report also introduces a model for action that highlights different levels of prevention activities across a range of stakeholders and provides specific examples of how population health strategies can be translated into cohesive areas for action at federal, state, and local levels.

Drawing on the latest research and statistics, Population Health in Canada presents critical analyses of the most pressing population health equity issues in Canada. Comprising research papers and briefs written by some of the top scholars in the field, this edited collection illustrates fundamental concepts of population health, including social inclusion and exclusion, health as a public good, and the social determinants of health. The editors’ careful selection of the framework and contents has been designed to encourage a social justice lens to address health inequities that are systemic, socially produced, and unfair. Sections on methodological tools, population health equity, community action, and current issues introduce students to the components needed to understand population health in Canada. With an emphasis on theory, methods, interventions, policy, and knowledge translation, this timely volume is well suited to a variety of courses on population health in social science and health studies programs.

The anthrax incidents following the 9/11 terrorist attacks put the spotlight on the nation's public health agencies, placing it under an unprecedented scrutiny that added new dimensions to the complex issues considered in this report. The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century reaffirms the vision of Healthy People 2010, and outlines a systems approach to assuring the nation's health in practice, research, and policy. This approach focuses on joining the unique resources and perspectives of diverse sectors and entities and challenges these groups to work in a concerted, strategic way to promote and protect the public's health. Focusing on diverse partnerships as the framework for public health, the book discusses: The need for a shift from an individual to a population-based approach in practice, research, policy, and community engagement. The status of the governmental public health infrastructure and what needs to be improved, including its interface with the health care delivery system. The roles nongovernment actors, such as academia, business, local communities and the media can play in creating a healthy nation. Providing an accessible analysis, this book will be important to public health policy-makers and practitioners, business and community leaders, health advocates, educators and journalists.

Significant changes have taken place in the policy landscape surrounding cannabis legalization, production, and use. During the past 20 years, 25 states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis and/or cannabidiol (a component of cannabis) for medical conditions or retail sales at the state level and 4 states have legalized both the medical and recreational use of cannabis. These landmark changes in policy have impacted cannabis use patterns and perceived levels of risk. However, despite this changing landscape, evidence regarding the short- and long-term health effects of cannabis use remains elusive. While a myriad of studies have examined cannabis use in all its various forms, often these research conclusions are not appropriately synthesized, translated for, or communicated to policy makers, health care providers, state health officials, or other stakeholders who have been charged with influencing and enacting policies, procedures, and laws related to cannabis use. Unlike other controlled substances such as alcohol or tobacco, no accepted standards for safe use or appropriate dose are available to help guide individuals as they make choices regarding the issues of if, when, where, and how to use cannabis safely and, in regard to therapeutic uses, effectively. Shifting public sentiment, conflicting and impeded scientific research, and legislative battles have fueled the debate about what, if any, harms or benefits can be attributed to the use of cannabis or its derivatives, and this lack of aggregated knowledge has broad public health implications. The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids provides a comprehensive review of scientific evidence related to the health effects and potential therapeutic benefits of cannabis. This report provides a research agendaâ€"outlining gaps in current knowledge and opportunities for providing additional insight into these issuesâ€"that summarizes and prioritizes pressing research needs.

Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the field of population health has evolved and matured considerably. Improving quality and health outcomes along with lowering costs has become an ongoing focus in delivery of health care. "Population Health: Creating a Culture of Wellness" reflects this focus and evolution in today's dynamic healthcare landscape by conveying the key concepts of population health management and examining strategies for creating a culture of health and wellness in the context of healthcare reform. This text offers a comprehensive, forward-looking approach to population health by those who have helped define the field. -- From publisher's description.

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.

From AIDS to Population Health explores the thirty-year history of a unique collaboration between the medical schools of Indiana University and Moi University in Kenya, as it progressed from combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic in East Africa to the building of a national plan to provide universal healthcare to all. The Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) program focuses on the medical education of healthcare professionals who are building communities that can take care of themselves. The overwhelming success of the AMPATH program and its continuing vibrant legacy today are showcased through dozens of striking photographs, telling interviews, and revealing anecdotes and encounters. It focuses on four of the most innovative projects among the fifty that AMPATH oversees: a microfinance officer who organizes villagers, an oncology nurse who runs outreach clinics, a farm extension agent working in partnership with a multinational agriculture corporation to improve farm output, and a special healthcare clinic exclusively for adolescents. Over its thirty-year history, AMPATH has served more than a million clients and trained 2,600 medical professionals and community health workers, always guided by its motto "Leading with Care." From AIDS to Population Health presents their compelling stories and explores the program's continuing legacy for the first time.

Population Health Management: Strategies, Tools, Applications, and Outcomes uniquely combines perspectives and concepts from community, public, and global health and aligns them with the essentials of health management. Written by leading experts in academia and industry, this text emphasizes the integration of management skills necessary to deliver quality care while producing successful outcomes sensitive to the needs of diverse populations. Designed to be both student-friendly and comprehensive, this text utilizes various models, frameworks, case examples, chapter podcasts, and more to illustrate foundational knowledge and impart the skills necessary for health care managers to succeed throughout the health care sector. The book spans core topics such as community needs assessments, social determinants of health, the role of data analytics, managerial epidemiology, value-based care payment models, and new population health delivery models. COVID-19 examples throughout chapters illustrate population health management strategies solving real-world challenges. Practical and outcomes-driven, Population Health Management prepares students in health administration and management, public health, social work, allied health, and other health professions for the challenges of an evolving health care ecosystem and the changing roles in the health management workforce. Key Features: Highlights up-to-date topics focusing on social marketing, design thinking for innovation, adopting virtual care and telehealth strategies, and social marketing ideas Introduces new population health management skills and tools such as the Social Vulnerability Index, Policy Map, PRAPARE, the PHM Framework, Design Thinking and Digital Messaging Incorporates "Did You Know?" callouts, chapter-based podcasts, and discussion questions to help explain real-world situations and examples that students and health professionals may encounter as administrators and managers Includes four full-length case studies focusing on the co-production of health, implementing a population health data analytics platform, health equity, and collaborative leadership Connects chapter objectives with the National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL) and the Public Health Foundation (PHF) competencies Purchase includes full suite of instructor resources with Instructor's Manual, PowerPoint slides, test bank, and sample syllabus