A Method to Improve Population Health: Consider Primary Care/Public Health Integration

Several public health researchers have reached the conclusion primary care and public health integration is a proven strategy to improve population health outcomes and reduce costs within  communities.  To lend support to the hypothesis, a group of public health stakeholders, safety net providers, municipal officials and health care community leaders in North Central Texas developed a coalition to replicate several models of integration to strengthen the healthcare safety net environment in a tri-county area (Dallas, Denton and Tarrant counties in Texas). 

Using the Theory of Aligned Contributions’ framework, community partners developed several  paths of action to address three challenges impacting the counties’ ability to achieve health equity for underserved populations:   Access to Care, Men’s Health and Health Literacy.   

Stakeholders designed a series of initiatives to break down the silo-effect that makes it difficult for public health and primary care leaders to share resources and areas of expertise by meeting to identify and discuss issues of common concern, engage in joint problem solving and support resource acquisition efforts. Using the Institute of Medicine’s integration model, the team is transitioning from a position of  isolation to a state of merger through a seamless progression by creating an environment of diversity, inclusion and groupthink.   

Through this process, challenges are confronted which produce synergy to strengthen the coalition’s leverage and resources as a group which will yield better outcomes for clients.