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Policy-oriented strategies are generally thought to be among the most effective public health interventions because they have the potential to impact all of the residents in a given municipality, state, or nation. Furthermore, they often require the least individual effort in terms of behavior change due to broader changes in the environment. For instance, regulating the nutritional content of school lunches is more effective than simply educating students about the nutritional content of their lunch options. As Dr. Thomas Frieden, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), explains, this type of strategy makes individuals’ default choice the healthy choice (Frieden, 2010).
Policy-oriented strategies are particularly important in promoting health equity because they can create healthier living conditions and ameliorate inequities in the social determinants of health (e.g. housing conditions, educational attainment, etc.). It is apparent that many policy domains such as employment, housing, and education have an impact on health and health inequities. (See Figure below.) One could argue that virtually all public policy impacts health and therefore all public policy should be “healthy public policy” (Kemm, 2001).
Policy-oriented strategies are particularly important in promoting health equity because they can create healthier living conditions and ameliorate inequities in the social determinants of health (e.g. housing conditions, educational attainment, etc.). It is apparent that many policy domains such as employment, housing, and education have an impact on health and health inequities. (See Figure below.) One could argue that virtually all public policy impacts health and therefore all public policy should be “healthy public policy” (Kemm, 2001).
According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 1988), healthy public policy is characterized by an explicit concern for health and equity in all areas of policy and accountability for health impacts. Furthermore, the primary aim of healthy public policy is to create a supportive environment to enable people to lead healthy lives. Healthy public policy may also be described in terms of “health in all policies,” wherehealth becomes an explicit goal across different sectors and policy domains. Such policy approaches can facilitate place-based initiatives and support other efforts to promote community health, which were described in previous sections. Importantly, creating healthy public policy requires stakeholders to accurately predict and assess the health impacts of public policy. Finally, the policy process itself must adapt in ways that reflect increased community participation and empowerment as well as a multi-sectoral approach. This section describes policy-oriented strategies for promoting health equity. It focuses primarily on a “Health in All Policies” approach. It also includes a discussion of health impact assessments as a tool to promote healthy public policy.
Section 6.1:
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