Assessing and Improving Community Health

In this introduction to population health, we lay out a comprehensive definition of population health as a process and begin to describe the major approaches to population health improvement. We also outline how the “Triple Aim” of improved population health, improved patient experience, and reduced cost was woven into the U.S. Affordable Care Act through new mandates for population health practices. In healthcare settings, we describe how new patient population management and population medicine approaches are beginning to address two known areas of weaknesses - that is, gaps in care and care transitions - that can have major impacts on a population’s health. We also begin to recognize that healthcare is not designed to address root causes of disease and that new ways of thinking are needed if communities are going to have sustained improvements in their population health.

In this week’s module, we map the network of partnerships and interconnections that influence a population health. Specifically, we summarize the ‘health impact pyramid’ and examine connections between community health and social, economic, environmental factors. Building on this foundation, we then extend these ideas into a new arena called the ‘One Health’ concept that recognizes the interrelationship between the health of the planet, its animals, and the health of humans. To enable learners to measure the health of a community, we explore the WHO 100 health indicators and describe what makes a really good population health indicator. The ability to measure a population’s health then helps us stratify patient populations or vulnerable subgroups within a community into different risk groups who would benefit from different preventive approaches. We then end the week with an exploration of The Community Guide - a product of the Community Preventive Services Task Force - who provides systematic reviews and recommendations on the best evidence-based community health interventions.

The ability to measure a population’s health then helps us stratify patient populations or vulnerable subgroups within a community into different risk groups who would benefit from different preventive approaches. We then end the week with an exploration of The Community Guide - a product of the Community Preventive Services Task Force - who provides systematic reviews and recommendations on the best evidence-based community health interventions.