IOM’s The future of the public’s health in the 21st century: How public health agencies and communities are translating vision into reality

Hugh Tilson, MD, DrPH, Epidemiology and Health Policy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 261 Rosenau, CD# 7400, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, 919-966-9275, hugh_tilson@unc.edu, Jo Ivey Boufford, MD, Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University, 40 West 4th Street, Tisch Hall, Room 600, New York, NY 10012, Patricia Wahl, PhD, Dean, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Box 357230, Seattle, WA 98195, and George R. Flores, MD, MPH, The California Endowment, 906 Vanessa Court, Windsor, CA 95492.

IOM’s The Future of the Public’s Health in the 21st Century builds on the foundation of the 1988 Future of Public Health report. The 2002 report calls for fashioning a new kind of public health system that embraces a wide range of partners (in addition to governmental public health agencies) and is guided by an active awareness of the multiple determinants population health.

The presentation will showcase activities, initiatives, and programs implemented by health departments and/or community organizations in response to or in alignment with report recommendations; lessons learned in the process; and challenges encountered. A panel of community-based organization and public health leaders will discuss how they utilized the report and its recommendations to train staff, effect program and policy change, develop inter-sectoral partnerships, and address the multiple determinants of health in their communities. The authors hope to show that the report's messages and recommendations are as relevant as they were two years ago, as the initial euphoria over new appreciation and funding of public health has lost some luster amidst state economic crises and budget deficits. There is a great danger that the recent investment in public health and the political will to strengthen the public health infrastructure will not be sustained. By disseminating information about the rapport and partnerships established among diverse agencies, organizations, and communities, the IOM and the authors hope to help strengthen and expand the public health constituency, and broaden engagement in ensuring “healthy people in healthy communities” becomes a reality.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to

◦ Discuss the roles of multiple determinants of health in shaping population health.
◦ List several potential partners within the public health system.
◦ Identify lessons learned or models of implementation gathered from the experience of communities and diverse partnerships which have utilized the report’s findings and recommendations

Keywords: Public Health, Community Collaboration

Related Web page: www.iom.edu/thefutureofthepublicshealth

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: The only product discussed will be a report of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, a non-profit organization chartered by Congress to advise the nation on health and medicine.
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation

Using Policy for Program Development and Planning

The 132nd Annual Meeting (November 6-10, 2004) of APHA