Population Health

What is Population Health? 

Population health is the overall physical and mental health and well-being of a clearly defined group of individuals. Many components comprise the overall health of a specific population, including economic, environmental, cultural, and behavioral factors and other social determinants of health. In addition, access to health care and how individuals make use of services available to them are also key components.

Improving the overall health and well-being of a specific population—which includes prevention and intervention measures for better health, policies expanding access to care, and increased quality of care—requires a multi-sector approach. From hospitals and nursing homes to health advocacy groups to national, state, and local government agencies, everyone plays a part and has an interest in data that informs accurate assessments of need and effective delivery of care to target populations.

Population Health Analytics with RTI

determine shared population health measurements. Our researchers consider such factors as access to care, clinical outcomes, care coordination and community services, preventive care and screening, health behaviors, and how a specific population uses available health services to build sustainable, scalable, and equitable solutions. 

Evaluating health care transformation efforts, like the State Innovation Models, helps identify evidence-based solutions to address population health by looking at care integration. Similarly, findings from an evaluation of the Accountable Health Communities Model in support of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) showed that connecting people to community resources to address health-related social needs can improve health outcomes and reduce costs.