Early Childhood is Critical to Health Equity→

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Early Childhood is Critical to Health Equity

"The first few years of life set us on paths toward - or away from -  health and well-being in childhood and as adults. Experiences in early childhood - defined here as the first five years of life - are therefore critical to having a fair chance to be healthy across the lifespan." The second report in a series on health equity from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), this report explores conditions in early childhood that shape health throughout life, how we can set all children on a path toward lifelong health, the business case for investing in early childhood, and a call to action. 

Read the full report from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation here.

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Raising Places Building Child Centered Communities→

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Raising Places Building Child Centered Communities

“The environments where children grow up have immense impact on their health and wellness. And places where children can thrive are places where all of us want to be. What do child-centered communities look like? And how might we work together to create more of them in America?”

Raising Places explored these questions in six diverse U.S. communities. This report is a synthesis of the trends, insights and lessons they've learned.

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California Hospital Association - Resources on Economic Stability/Community Partnerships→

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California Hospital Association - Resources on Economic Stability/Community Partnerships

Recognizing the connection between people’s finances (income, cost of living and socioeconomic status) and their health, California’s hospitals have developed innovative community-based programs and activities that address key issues such as poverty, food insecurity, housing instability and homelessness, vocational training, and employment and income.

This piece appears on California Hospital Association’s Promoting Healthy Communities page.

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A Health Equity and Value Framework for Action: Delivery and Payment Transformation Policy Options to Reduce Health Disparities→

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A Health Equity and Value Framework for Action: Delivery and Payment Transformation Policy Options to Reduce Health Disparities

This policy options paper represents a collaborative effort among state and national health equity thought leaders to catalyze much needed action to leverage health system transformation for the benefit of those whom the health system is leaving behind. Ensuring that those facing the biggest barriers to good health and high-quality health care are served well by the health care system will improve care for everyone. 

Sinsi Hernández-Cancio, Ellen Albritton, Eliot Fishman, Sophia Tripoli, Andrea Callow | June 2018

This piece appears in Families USA: The voice for Health Care Consumers

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Untangling the Complex Issue of Health Equity in Michigan→

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Untangling the Complex Issue of Health Equity in Michigan

"Imagine this: Your child has tested positive for lead poisoning, so you request a city inspection of your home. At the same time, you receive an eviction notice. You follow up with the city to find out when the lead inspection will occur so you can use it to fight your eviction notice, but the city has canceled the inspection because of your eviction. In the same week, you have your second child, who will grow up in transitional housing after your eviction." This article is part of State of Health, a new series examining health disparities, how they affect Michigan's children and seniors, and the innovative solutions being developed to address them.

Sarah Rigg | June 21, 2018

This piece appears in Second Wave Michigan

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Charting a Course for Social Determinants of Health→

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Charting a Course for Social Determinants of Health

Healthcare systems are talking about moving upstream. The Upstream Strategy Compass can help them get there. The Upstream Strategy CompassTM from HealthBegins, for example, uses levels of prevention (i.e. primary, secondary, and tertiary) and levels of intervention (i.e. individual, organizational, community) to help healthcare systems and their community partners understand local needs as well as the opportunities to improve specific social determinants of health for priority patient populations.2 

Rishi Manchanda 

This piece appears in the Practical Playbook Blog

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Inclusive Healthy Places→

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Inclusive Healthy Places

The Framework and supporting analysis presented in the Inclusive Healthy Places report and on Gehl Institute's site represent a synthesis of research and expertise in public health and urban planning and design, with specific focus on the social determinants of health that can be viewed clearly through the lens of public space.

The framework and analysis can be found on Gehl Institute’s site.

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Overcoming Challenges to Medicaid Investments in Social Determinants of Health→

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Medicaid and other payers are recognizing that health outcomes and costs are driven by factors beyond clinical care. These factors are rooted in the community and include issues such as housing, food security, transportation, and the neighborhood environment in which people live, learn, play, pray, and work. Through an initiative sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Payment Reform for Population Health, AcademyHealth partnered with the Nemours Children’s Health System to work with Maryland, Oregon, and Washington State to address the payment challenge. Specifically, they worked with states to explore current Medicaid authorities to promote and provide prevention services in community settings, cover upstream prevention benefits such as assessing a home for asthma triggers, and deliver services using nontraditional community-based providers.

Enrique Martinez-Vidal, Debbie I. Chang, Tricia McGinnis | June 13, 2018

This piece appears in the Health Affairs blog.

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Partnering to Catalyze Comprehensive Wellness

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An Actionable Framework for Health Care and Public Health Collaboration: 

Health professionals working to protect and improve health in communities and across the nation realize that none of our distinct systems – not health care, public health, nor social services – is fully equipped to accomplish its mission alone. There is mounting recognition that to truly improve health outcomes in the U.S. and curb chronic diseases there must be an interdisciplinary, coordinated, and cross-sector approach to address acute conditions and the upstream social factors that contribute to poor health outcomes. This approach requires transformation of the way the health and human service systems traditionally interact.

In pursuit of this goal, members of the PUBLIC HEALTH LEADERSHIP FORUM (PHLF) and HEALTH CARE TRANSFORMATION TASK FORCE (HCTTF) developed a framework to help catalyze and facilitate collaborative working relationships between the public health and health care sectors. Such partnerships are an essential component of the “comprehensive community wellness approach,” one in which effective, collaborative relationships across sectors ensure more seamless care and prevention services for all. Under this approach, public health, health care, and social service and community organizations intentionally build high-functioning partnerships to address health needs in their communities, and invest in the time, staff, information platforms, and oversight structures needed to sustain them.  The framework outlines essential elements of collaboration and presents key tactics and strategies for forming or reshaping effective partnerships.

Public Health Leadership Forum | June 13, 2018

This piece appears in Health Care Transformation’ Task Force’s Transformation Resources Page.

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