Leveraging Synergies: Integrating Public Health, Healthcare Administration, and Community Outreach for Population Health Management

Abstract

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has provided a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between healthcare delivery systems and public health efforts to address population health. By mandating tax-exempt hospitals to conduct community health needs assessments and develop implementation strategies, the ACA has incentivized healthcare organizations to invest in upstream prevention and address social determinants of health. Simultaneously, there has been increasing recognition of the value of community engagement and community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles in public health practice. This paper explores the potential synergies that can be achieved by integrating healthcare administration, public health, and community outreach through collaborative, multi-sectoral partnerships guided by CBPR approaches. Case studies illustrate how building institutional capacity for sustained community engagement can enable healthcare systems to fulfill their community benefit obligations more effectively while enhancing population health interventions. Challenges and successful strategies related to fostering equitable partnerships, sustaining programs, and achieving collective impact are discussed. The paper highlights opportunities for innovation at this intersection to advance a patient-centered, prevention-oriented model of population health management.