Population Health:
According to the CDC, population health provides an opportunity for health care systems, agencies and organizations to work together in order to improve the health outcomes of the communities they serve. It is different from clinical medicine and public health.1 It is a movement to harmonize efforts and address multi-level risk factors that improve both individual- and community-level health outcomes.
As humans and scientists, we ask “why” because it is the quickest way to satisfy our fundamental human interest for knowledge.2 As business owners and community leaders, we ask “why” because it helps us make strategic decisions that yield the greatest return on investment. Employing population health methodologies help reinvent and reimagine more effective, accessible, and affordable healthcare in three ways:
Data Analytics and Causality:
Much of health research focuses on understanding the etiology, or cause, of disease. Since the second half of the 20th century, significant progress has been made in elucidating fully the complex web of causality,3,4 but there is still much work to be done. Bench science research in wet labs, clinical research on individuals, and ecological studies involving communities are often all necessary to study the complex causal determination and processes of disease. Current opportunities and advancement in research focus on identifying all factors, including both modifiable and nonmodifiable social determinants of health and quantitatively assessing their possible multilevel interaction.
Data and advanced analytics serve two major purposes: 1) To identify at-risk populations and 2) To identify risk factors. Data empowers us to employ evidenced-based approaches as scientists and industry leaders to make more economical and effective choices for our businesses and their respective internal and external customers.
Multidisciplinary collaborations:
A tenet of population health is multidisciplinary collaborations.1 Through non-traditional partnerships, existing methods merge, and new ideas emerge. Harmonizing evidenced-based practices from diverse fields transcends the limits of their traditional boundaries.5 As is seen in basic biology, through emergence, we collectively can have a stronger and more sustainable impact than if we act alone in a siloed approach.
In other words, partnering with different sectors of the community – public health, industry, academia, health care, local government entities, – cultivates innovative, proven, and effective solutions. Multidisciplinary wellness experts develop and deliver innovative technologies and solutions.
Population Health Impact
At its core, population health harmonizes the best concepts and methods available into something even greater. It is the new frontier for health care. Population health employs the most inclusive definitions for all aspects of healthcare that leads to evidence-based innovation. More effective and affordable options are developed by looking at individuals, communities, and systems simultaneously. More holistic frameworks like whole-person wellness are employed and better interventions are used earlier in disease development to save both the system and individuals more money and yield better health outcomes.
Hive Wellness and Population Health:
We have started a healthcare revolution that is focused on paving a better path forward. Focused on addressing stress, the “health epidemic of the 21st century,”6 our goal is to reduce the onset and burden of chronic disease. We support people to live happier, healthier and more fulfilling lives by predicting and preventing disease all together.
We are working with employers, health and benefits administrators, managed care organizations and individuals looking for more proactive, affordable and effective evidence-based solutions. We are educating and empowering people and organizations to reclaim control of their health and well-being.
Together, we are rewriting your future by using proven machine-learning algorithms to predict and then prevent the onset or advancement of disease.
References:
1. (CDC) CfDCaP. What is Population Health? U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/pophealthtraining/whatis.html. Published 2021. Accessed April 22, 2021, 2021.
2. Yudkin JS. A Renewed Call to Safeguard Public Health Epistemology (Upcoming). International Journal for Public Health. 2021.
3. Szklo M, Nieto FJ. Epidemiology : beyond the basics. Fourth edition. ed. Burlington, Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2019.
4. MacMahon B, Pugh TF. Epidemiology: principles and methods. Epidemiology: principles and methods. 1970.
5. Transdisciplinary Approaches for Public Health. Epidemiology. 2000;11(4):S122.
6. Fink G. Stress, definitions, mechanic, and effects outlined: lessons from anxiety. In: Stress: Concepts, cognition, emotion, and behavior. Elsevier; 2016:3-11