Designers are more commonly known for conceiving and crafting interiors, graphics, and clothing but the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) has partnered with design professionals to develop innovative strategies aimed at reducing the city’s rates of unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among teens. Suzanne Elder, program director for CDPH’s Office ofRead… Read more »
With guest co-blogger Kendall Stagg, Director of Policy at Chicago Department of Public Health This month, the Chicago Department of Public Health was named “Local Health Department of the Year” by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), an association of more than 2,800 local health departments across the nation. TheRead… Read more »
With guest co-blogger Nikhil Prachand, Director of HIV/STI Surveillance at Chicago Department of Public Health The HIV epidemic in our nation is rapidly becoming concentrated among poor, young black and Hispanic men who have sex with men. In Chicago, there are over 25,000 people living with HIV. Approximately 1,000 people are newly diagnosed every year.Read… Read more »
Written with guest blogger Matt Roberts, Informatics Project Manager Inadequate information management leads to incomplete decision-making. Public health and healthcare decision-makers’ eyes routinely glaze over once information technology is mentioned. Return on investment is difficult to pinpoint, and millions of dollars appear to fall into IT black holes as the proposed product often arrives behindRead… Read more »
The rise of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) specifically presents a unique opportunity to reinvent the relationship between the delivery system and community health, and to develop and implement sustainable business models that integrate the common agenda of medicine and public health. The triple aim of decreased costs, improved quality, and better population health further heightenRead… Read more »
As a nation we have not done very well integrating health systems, payers, public health departments, and community based agencies. The key findings in obesity, diabetes, access, poverty, and tobacco underscore the need for service integration. The drumbeat for the integration of services among delivery systems with community-based organizations has become louder in recent years.Read… Read more »
Having the option to age independently within one’s community is often presented as a healthy alternative to more traditional assisted living options (e.g. the World Health Organization, AARP). In this option, community refers to more than one’s home. It refers to the built environment around us and individual and collective person environment fit. But howRead… Read more »
Diabetes is a complex chronic disease, suggested to be caused by a combination of genetic, behavioral and environmental factors. According to the 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (CDC), 8.1% of the adult population of Chicago is estimated to have diabetes, a trend that has remained relatively unchanged over the past ten years. In lightRead… Read more »
The triple aim continues to be the focus of payment and delivery reform. Predictive analytics and big data are poised to make an impact in achieving the triple aim. Recently, there has been interest in connecting predictive analytics with other tools to amplify impact in lowering costs, improving quality, and improving population health. Furthermore, itRead… Read more »
From clean water supplies to the polio vaccine, the most effective public health interventions are typically preventive interventions and policies that help stop a crisis before it starts. However, predicting the next public health crisis has historically been a challenge. Thanks to new technologies, we innovate age-old public health workflows and methods of analysis. WeRead… Read more »