What is Population Health?

Population health is a scientific discipline that shifts the focus from treating illness in individuals to proactively improving health outcomes across entire communities. A population health approach can transform how we think about health in several ways:

It’s data-driven and predictive: Population health uses data analytics to identify high-risk individuals to intervene early – sometimes even before they show symptoms – to forecast disease outbreaks, and tailor interventions to specific communities.
It addresses root causes: Population health digs deep to target key determinants of health such as transportation, housing, education, income, and access to nutritious food—factors that profoundly shape health outcomes.It’s collaborative across sectors: Population health brings together public health agencies, private companies, schools, housing authorities, and more to create healthier environments.

It redefines success: Population health seeks to impact metrics like Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs), Healthy Life Expectancy (HALE):
In short, population health is novel because it’s not just about treating illness—it’s about building systems that keep people well.