To effectively develop policies and programs to improve population health, it is useful to use a framework to guide the process. Different organizations and governmental agencies (for example, Healthy People 2020) have created a variety of such frameworks, which establish measures for assessing population health. These measures frequently are derived from the examination of epidemiologic data, which include key measures of population health such as mortality, morbidity, life expectancy, etc. Within each measure are a variety of progress indicators that use epidemiologic data to assess improvement or change.

For this Discussion, you will apply a framework developed by Kindig, Asada, and Booske (2008) to a population health issue of interest to you. This framework includes five key health determinants that should be considered when developing policies and programs to improve population health: access to health care, individual behavior, social environment, physical environment, and genetics.

To prepare:

• Review the article “A Population Health Framework for Setting National and State Health Goals,” focusing on population health determinants.
• Review the information in the blog post “What Is Population Health?”
• With this information in mind, elect a population health issue that is of interest to you.
• Using this week’s Learning Resources, the Walden Library, and other relevant resources, conduct a search to locate current data on your population health issue.
• Consider how epidemiologic data has been used to design population health measures and policy initiatives in addressing this issue.

Solution:

Many people recognize health and healthcare as a personal issue. However, population health extends beyond focusing on an individual’s health status as it requires a population health approach. According to a study by Zhang et al. (2012), lack of healthcare coverage and access was linked to poor glycemic control in that the individuals that minimally accessed healthcare services had poorer glucose and blood pressure as compared to those that frequently accessed healthcare services. As such, the frequency of use of healthcare is associated with diabetes control. Considering, individual behavior, individuals with health lifestyle that observe proper management of dietary habits such as consumption of dietary fiber, exercise, weight control, and smoking cessation are less likely to have diabetes as compared to those with poor behavioral lifestyles (Agborsangaya et al.,2013). Epidemiological data from the Nurses’ Health Study indicated that lowest risk of diabetes is in individuals with BMI <21, increased physical activity such as walking, and higher consumption of dietary fiber (Agborsangaya et al., 2013). Considering the social environment, one’s culture, environment, employment, education, community infrastructure, and social support affect the prevalence of diabetes (Hill, Nielsen, & Fox, 2013). For instance, African American culture and other social determinants considerably contribute to diabetes 2 development and outcomes. According to epidemiological data by Hill et al. (2013), African American have a strong sense of living in present, willingness to accept obesity as the culture and perceive diabetes as a hereditary disease that cannot be prevented…..Please click the icon below to purchase full solution at $5