Health Improvement by Design Through Partnership and Empathy

The application of technology in precision medicine (i.e., using data to tailor care for specific groups) and machine learning (modeling data to develop new ways to meet particular needs) plays a vital role in population health. And yet, technology alone cannot resolve the challenges presented by the underlying social determinants of health (SDOH) and the structure of healthcare institutions. Progress requires a partnership of stakeholders to build holistic solutions. Typically, a rigid institutional reliance on a sequential process of hypothesis, study, experimentation, and evaluation drives the development of health programs and policies. While this process works in many cases, the results are not always long-lasting. The roots of many health problems persist in their communities, despite expanded funding and advanced resources. In light of this reality, should healthcare leaders do more of what has been done in the past, or should they explore another way-a new way of thinking-to design collaborative, people-driven programs and policies that can improve and sustain the health of their communities? The response presented here and detailed in our book, Public Health and Health Systems Management: A Population Health Perspective (scheduled for publication in 2025 by Health Administration Press), considers healthcare's complex structure and SDOH and promotes the value of design thinking to address those factors.