Population Health Initiatives Among Hospitals: Associated Hospital Characteristics

This study explored how hospitals define population health and the factors associated with hospitals' population health initiatives. Data came from the 2015 American Hospital Association (AHA) Population Health Survey, the 2015 AHA Annual Survey, and the 2015 AHA Health Information Technology Supplement. Descriptive statistics described the sample of 1,386 nonfederal acute care hospitals and variables of interest. Multivariate logistic regression explored associations between population health commitment among hospitals and hospital characteristics. While hospitals defined population health in several ways, most (83%) responded that they were committed to population health activities. Multivariate regression results indicated that hospitals with lower levels of health information technology sophistication were less likely to commit to population health activities. For-profit hospitals were also less likely to commit to population health, compared to not-for-profit hospitals. System members were more likely to commit to population health initiatives, compared to independent hospitals. The variation in the definition of population health has implications for developing strategies to improve outcomes. These results present preliminary evidence on the relationship between hospital characteristics and hospital commitment to population health efforts.