Policy Innovation for Health (PDF)

Policy Innovation for Health

Policy Innovation for Health

Edited by Ilona Kickbusch, Graduate Institute of International and Developmental Studies, Geneva

The facts are hard to ignore: rising rates of chronic disease, epidemic obesity and diabetes, a widening longevity gap between rich and poor, health care "reforms" at odds with patient interests. It has become increasingly clear that changes in the existing health care system will not be sufficient to maintain and improve our health at this historical juncture. In response, Policy Innovation for Health argues that that we need to shift course and apply a radically new mindset to health and health policy. The pressure for policy innovation shifts from a focus on the health care system to a reorganization of how we approach health in 21^st century societies. This change calls for new mechanisms through which we conduct health policy and it calls for an inclusion of many actors in the policy process: health care providers, policy makers from many sectors, communities, consumers, patients and the private sector.

The long-term strategies outlined in this book emphasize collaboration within government through Health in All Policy approaches and beyond government through new partnerships for health. The authors provide many concrete examples of new policy approaches and implementation from different parts of Europe and at different levels of governance, local, regional, national and European. Case studies of policy innovations for health from Portugal, Wales and Germany illustrate in detail how such policies can bridge the gaps between prevention, health promotion, and healthcare; and improve core health determinants such as living conditions, education, and social supports. These social, political, medical, and technological advances, assert the authors, are crucial to meeting the challenges of the decades ahead.

Among the topics covered:

• Health as a central economic and societal force.


• New directions in the monitoring of health and well-being.


• Integrating Health in all Policies" programs and how they can be implemented The democratization of health knowledge and the expanding role of patient participation.


• Closing the financial divide in public health priority-setting.

Policy Innovation for Health adds important new voices to the health care debate, and its vision will inspire professionals in health policy, health administration, health economics, and global health, as well as graduate students planning to enter these rapidly changing fields.