Advancing Health and Well-Being

The case for evidence and collaboration in pursuit of health equity

In this second volume of the Culture of Health series, Advancing Health and Well-Being convenes experts from academia, policy, journalism, and community-based organizations, among other sectors, to examine how data and narrative can catalyze progress toward building a national Culture of Health.

Tackling topics such as health inequity, mass incarceration, and climate change, Advancing Health and Well-Being does more than draw lines between cause and effect; its 70+ voices lend context and lived experience to critical conversations that may lack such elements. The result is a work that shows the power and promise of evidence and collaboration.

Amid continued interest in population health and well-being, this book offers essential reading for those advancing such efforts, and those seeking an early grounding, in pursuit of a Culture of Health.

Alonzo L. Plough, PhD, MPH, MA, is Chief Science Officer and Vice President of Research-Evaluation-Learning at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Plough has had a distinguished career in public health practice, academia, and philanthropy. His work focuses on improving health and well-being, and achieving health equity. Plough serves as a board member for many health and social welfare organizations.

Foreword
Richard E. Besser

Introduction
Alonzo L. Plough

Section I: Building a Culture of Health: The Role of Place, Race, Opportunity, and Class

1: Seeking Common Ground in a Time of Change
Michael F. Cannon, Bruce Japsen, Forbes Leighton Ku, Shiriki Kumanyika, Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, and Sarah Rosen Wartell

2: How Location Influences Upward Mobility and Health
Raj Chetty, John Friedman, and Eugene Robinson

3: Driving Toward Racial Equity
Jeannette R. Ickovics, Julie Nelson, Dwayne Proctor, and Olivia Roanhorse

Section II: Influencing Health across Sectors: Selected Cases

4: Enlisting Social Supports to Advance Health
Jo Bibby, Mariana Chilton, Anna Goodman Hoover, and David Meltzer

5: Incarceration and Health
George Galvis, Karen Lash, and Anna Steiner

6: Resilience and Climate Change
Brett KenCairn, Nicole Lurie, Sabrina McCormick, and Elizabeth Sawin

7: Making the Economic Case for Population Health
Catherine Anderson, Darrell J. Gaskin, Darshak Sanghavi, Nirav R. Shah, and Nirav Shah

Section III: The Power of Collaborative Relationships

8: Understanding and Respecting Values
Erika Blacksher, Sir Harry Burns, Larry L. Bye, Katherine Grace Carman, and Michael A. Rodriguez

9: Traditional and New Data: Competing or Compatible?
Mollyann Brodie, Thomas Goetz, and Brian C. Quinn,

10: Promises and Pitfalls of Cross-Sector Research Collaboration
Jessica Allen, Kacie Dragan, Lisa Dubay, Sandi L. Pruitt, Corianne Scally, and Michael S. Shafer

11: Anchor Institutions: Harnessing Economic Power for a Healthy Community
Lisa Jensen, Danielle Varda, and David Zuckerman

Section IV: On the Front Lines of Community Change

12: Building Vibrant Communities
Wendy K. Mariner, Eduardo Sanchez, Matthew Trowbridge, and Shin-pei Tsay

13: Bridging the Academia-Media Gap
Al Cross and Lisa Simpson

14: Failing Forward: Pitfalls and Progress
Veronica Combs, Lena Hatchett, Gabriel Lara, Rohit Ramaswamy, and Samuel Ross

Section V: Profiles of Kentucky

15: The Louisville Story
Erik Eaker, Greg Fischer, Brandy Kelly Pryor, and Ted Smith

16: A View from Appalachia
Gabriela Alcalde, Jared Arnett, Adrienne Bush, and Gil Liu

Epilogue: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on the Journey to a Culture of Health
Abbey K. Cofsky, Megan Collado Priya Gandhi, Amy Gillman, Heather Hughes, Michelle A. Larkin, Jonathan Lever, and Katie E. Wehr

Conclusion
Alonzo L. Plough

Acknowledgments

References

Index

Culture of Health Action Framework