Aligning Investments to Improve Population Health

The COVID-19 pandemic and related economic challenges have heightened focus on the role that the physical environment and social determinants of health (substandard housing, crowded housing, homelessness, food insecurity, broadband connection, transportation, etc.) play in wellbeing and economic growth. Simultaneously, the nation is coming to terms with the consequences of inequities that further emphasize the need to address the social determinants of health that contribute to poor health outcomes for many vulnerable individuals and families.

Hospitals are in a unique position to invest in community development efforts that support the health of local residents and reduce hospital costs associated with preventable emergency and inpatient utilization.

Now is the time for a multisectoral approach to improve community health in New Hampshire.

The Aligning Investments to Improve Population Health (AIIPH) project is a statewide strategy engaging health, community development, and other stakeholder leaders in New Hampshire to align investments and promote policies that address the social determinants of health.

AIIPH Overarching Goal:

The overarching goal of this project is to leverage hospital and community stakeholder connections and expertise to:

Develop a statewide fund for collective community investment in the social drivers of health;
Create a common policy agenda for health care leaders that focuses on building capacity to address the social drivers of health.

This data driven project is being conducted in two phases:

Phase 1: The planning and research or “blueprint” phase. In Phase 1, the goal is to use
quantitative and qualitative data to inform Phase 2.

Phase 2: The development of a fund, targeting of initial investments, and establishing a shared policy agenda.

Partners:
This project is a multidisciplinary collaboration between the Center for Impact Finance at the Carsey School of Public Policy at UNH, the Center to Advance Community Health and Equity (CACHE) at the Public Health Institute, the Institute for Health Policy and Practice at UNH, and the New Hampshire Hospital Association/Foundation for Healthy Communities. Michael Swack, director of the Center for Impact Finance at the Carsey School serves as the co-principal investigator of the project along with Kevin Barnett of the Public Health Institute.

For more information, please contact:
Peter Ames, Executive Director, Foundation for Healthy Communities at (603) 415-4270.

Michael Swack, Director, Center for Impact Finance, Carsey School of Public Policy, University of New Hampshire at (603) 862-3201.