What is Population Health?

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There have been dramatic increases in life expectancy in the 20th century. Improvements in medical care have played a major part.¹ But a large role has also been attributed to developments outside of the health sector - better food, housing, education, and employment opportunities.² Some of these advances have been ‘health motivated,’ such as reductions in road deaths due the introduction of seat belt legislation and improvements in the quality of the water supply. Others have been ‘health by products’ of choices made for other reasons, such as better educational opportunities for girls and the reduction of air pollution by reductions in coal burning. Overall it means that sources of improvement in health have been wide ranging and are likely to continue to be so.

Health Canada describes population health as:

an approach to health that aims to improve the health of the entire population and to reduce health inequities among population groups. In order to reach these objectives, it looks at and acts upon the broad range of factors and conditions that have a strong influence on our health.³

1. Bunker JP. The role of medical care in contributing to health improvements within societies. International Journal of Epidemiology 2001;30:1260-1263

2. McKeown T. The Role of Medicine. 1979 Oxford. Blackwell

3. Population Health. Health Canada http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ph-sp/phdd/approach/index.html accessed 22 January 2006