To set some context around my posts, I will flesh out some basic concepts around the population health.
First, what is “population health”?…
The most widely cited definition of population health comes from Kindig and Stoddart:
Population health being “the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group.” ‘Populations’ can be defined geographically, like a neighborhood, or by common characteristics among people – age, sex, social status, or ethnicity, for example
Extending this concept of the distribution of health outcomes between groups of people, scholars at George Washington University emphasize that the question of ‘responsibility’ then enters the conversation:
What or who is responsible for differences in health outcomes between populations?
To make inferences about why some groups are sicker than others, we must first make a important distinction between two types of health disadvantages: The difference between health inequalities and health inequities.
Health inequalities describe any differences in health outcomes between populations. An example of a health inequality is that older adults tend to have more illnesses than younger people. This inequality, as we know, is biologically-based and is, as of yet, un-modifiable because we have not solved the natural aging process.
Health inequities, on the other hand, describe differences in health outcomes between groups that are fundamentally unfair and unjust – when poor health outcomes for one group are the result of being disproportionately exposed to harmful physical and social conditions due to factors outside of their control. An example of this is the fact that low income populations tend to have a lower life expectancy than high income populations. Income, in this case, is a modifiable risk factor that can be adjusted with necessary social and economic interventions.
When health is considered at a scope as large as this, it becomes clear that population health can only be improved with the actions of individuals and institutions inside and outside the traditional health system.
A Population Health Blog 