Building Healthy Communities

Following a joint convening with the American Public Health Association and key public health leaders, AcademyHealth outlines priority areas for public health services and systems research across the following domains: preparedness and resilience; structure; performance; workforce; data and technology; and financing and economics.

At a June 2021 AcademyHealth workshop, supported by Blue Shield of California Foundation, public health officials shared their on-the-ground experiences of using disadvantage indices to locate COVID-19 testing sites, allocate vaccines, set up vaccination sites, and conduct community outreach to overcome vaccine hesitancy.

For more than two decades the federal government deterred research into this leading cause of preventable death. A new report estimates the cost of closing the knowledge gap.

As our health care system continues to rebuild from the COVID-19 crisis and confront the ongoing threats of structural racism and inequality, trust has emerged as a vital issue to explore in efforts to improve the nation’s health and well-being.

Given their location in counties with high economic and health needs, for-profit hospitals have significant potential to impact population health if they are successfully incentivized to engage in population health improvement.