Summary of the Leading Health Indicator Critical Issue Session
Sacramento: Region IX
December 9, 1998
Moderator:
Phillip Smith, MD
Indian Health Service, US Department of Health and Human Services
- Purpose of the session is to exchange information, share perspectives, and brainstorm
about action steps.
- Provided an overview of progress to date on development of leading health indicators.
Panelists:
Neal Halfon, MD, MPH
Professor, UCLA School of Public Health
- Consideration should be given to multiple determinants of health models (i.e., field
health model, ecological model, family model, critical pathway model) and how to
incorporate a model into leading health indicators.
- Incorporate into leading health indicators new learning about the connectedness of early
life events and later health as well as critical periods in life and later health.
- Health and health care are about opportunity and equity. Disparities must be addressed
in the leading health indicators in relation to opportunities.
- Select leading health indicators that reflect life stage (infant, child, adolescent,
adult), determinants of health (social, genetic, behaviors, services), and influences and
accountability (individual, family, organizations, communities, states, nation).
Laverne Snow, MPH
Senior Director of Public Health Information, Association of State and Territorial
Health Officials
- HHS should coordinate with other indicator development activities to avoid duplication
(i.e., APEX-CPH, MCHB Title V performance measures, Community Health Status Indicators
Project, Assessment Initiative).
- Make the leading health indicators a tool for communicating with communities.
- Include disease measures, risk factors, services, quality of life indicators (i.e.,
violence, mental health, recreation).
Mike Rodrian, MD
Chief, Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health
- Encourages HHS to retain a focus on the Health Status Indicators from CDC, while
improving geographic breakdowns, local ability for analysis, and our ability to track
county specific trends.
- To implement leading health indicators, we will need to improve state and local data,
conduct surveys to evaluate the success of Healthy People 2010, and train local
professionals.
- Essential dilemma is whether to maintain traditional measures and improve links or to
focus on new data and measures.
Summary of Discussion:
- To develop leading health indicators we need to review the current science and ongoing
efforts. Develop a high quality and useful set that includes determinants relevant across
the life span.
- Consideration should be given to indicators that measure health status within social
units (family, community, state, nation).