This book was originally conceived in 1987. It was then seen as a contribution towards improved management and policy-making in a diffuse and neglected area of NHS management. The focus of the book is the 'old' Community Health Services: those transferred to Area Health Authorities from local authorities in the 1974 re organization of the NHS. These diverse services, while grouped together, had little objectively in common, occupying, as they do, a hazy middle ground between hospital and Family Practitioner Services. However, since 1974 there have been a number of major devel opments which have opened opportunities for change and devel opment in these services. These include: the resurrection of concern with 'Public Health'; the attempted closure of large mental illness and mental handicap hospitals and the development of 'Com munity Care'; the introduction of General Management; and the implication for health and local authorities of the White Papers 'Caring for People', 'Promoting Better Health' and 'Working for Patients'. Traditionally, Community Health Services were seen as low status and a professional dead-end. This, in tum, has led to a rather uneven body of literature. The growth of general management has led to a demand for a more coherent, management-orientated literature. It is our hope that this book will encourage the production of more literature in this area.

How do communities protect and improve the health of their populations? Health care is part of the answer but so are environmental protections, social and educational services, adequate nutrition, and a host of other activities. With concern over funding constraints, making sure such activities are efficient and effective is becoming a high priority. Improving Health in the Community explains how population-based performance monitoring programs can help communities point their efforts in the right direction. Within a broad definition of community health, the committee addresses factors surrounding the implementation of performance monitoring and explores the "why" and "how to" of establishing mechanisms to monitor the performance of those who can influence community health. The book offers a policy framework, applies a multidimensional model of the determinants of health, and provides sets of prototype performance indicators for specific health issues. Improving Health in the Community presents an attainable vision of a process that can achieve community-wide health benefits.

Over half the world's rural population, and many in urban slums, have minimal access to health services. This book describes how to set up new, and develop existing, community-based health care for, by and with, the community.

Integrating Social Care into the Delivery of Health Care: Moving Upstream to Improve the Nation's Health was released in September 2019, before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic in March 2020. Improving social conditions remains critical to improving health outcomes, and integrating social care into health care delivery is more relevant than ever in the context of the pandemic and increased strains placed on the U.S. health care system. The report and its related products ultimately aim to help improve health and health equity, during COVID-19 and beyond. The consistent and compelling evidence on how social determinants shape health has led to a growing recognition throughout the health care sector that improving health and health equity is likely to depend â€" at least in part â€" on mitigating adverse social determinants. This recognition has been bolstered by a shift in the health care sector towards value-based payment, which incentivizes improved health outcomes for persons and populations rather than service delivery alone. The combined result of these changes has been a growing emphasis on health care systems addressing patients' social risk factors and social needs with the aim of improving health outcomes. This may involve health care systems linking individual patients with government and community social services, but important questions need to be answered about when and how health care systems should integrate social care into their practices and what kinds of infrastructure are required to facilitate such activities. Integrating Social Care into the Delivery of Health Care: Moving Upstream to Improve the Nation's Health examines the potential for integrating services addressing social needs and the social determinants of health into the delivery of health care to achieve better health outcomes. This report assesses approaches to social care integration currently being taken by health care providers and systems, and new or emerging approaches and opportunities; current roles in such integration by different disciplines and organizations, and new or emerging roles and types of providers; and current and emerging efforts to design health care systems to improve the nation's health and reduce health inequities.

The anthrax incidents following the 9/11 terrorist attacks put the spotlight on the nation's public health agencies, placing it under an unprecedented scrutiny that added new dimensions to the complex issues considered in this report. The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century reaffirms the vision of Healthy People 2010, and outlines a systems approach to assuring the nation's health in practice, research, and policy. This approach focuses on joining the unique resources and perspectives of diverse sectors and entities and challenges these groups to work in a concerted, strategic way to promote and protect the public's health. Focusing on diverse partnerships as the framework for public health, the book discusses: The need for a shift from an individual to a population-based approach in practice, research, policy, and community engagement. The status of the governmental public health infrastructure and what needs to be improved, including its interface with the health care delivery system. The roles nongovernment actors, such as academia, business, local communities and the media can play in creating a healthy nation. Providing an accessible analysis, this book will be important to public health policy-makers and practitioners, business and community leaders, health advocates, educators and journalists.

"The cases in this book emphasize the application of healthcare management principles and skills across institutional boundaries to effectively manage the health status of a population or community"--

In the health and community service industries, projects are increasingly used for the development of new services, and to achieve change in existing services, work practices and delivery models. Until now, project workers in these fields have had to rely on books designed for architects, builders and IT administrators. This is the first textbook to take the principles of project management and place them into a context relevant for people working in health and community services. This book provides a critical guide to both the strategic and operational aspects of using projects and making them work. Covering topics such as the lifecycle of a project, planning, execution and evaluation, risk management, change and effective teams, Project Management for Health and Community Services uses extensive international case studies and examples from the field. Written by authors with years of practical experience, this is a valuable resource for anyone studying or working on health and community services. Project Management for Health and Community Services offers students and professionals practical problem solving strategies and provides a comprehensive guide to managing projects as well as tips on managing a team and the stakeholders.