Accountable Communities of Health, Health and Social Service Systems Alignment, and Population Health

Eastern Washington State, 2017–2019

Bibliographic Data

ID11023322
AuthorsStephanie Bultema (0000-0002-5551-5963, Stephanie Bultema is with the School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado Denver, Denver. Hadley Morrow is with Better Health Together, Spokane, WA. Stacy Wenzl is with Spokane Regional Health District Data Center, Spokane.), Hadley Morrow (Stephanie Bultema is with the School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado Denver, Denver. Hadley Morrow is with Better Health Together, Spokane, WA. Stacy Wenzl is with Spokane Regional Health District Data Center, Spokane.), Stacy Wenzl (Stephanie Bultema is with the School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado Denver, Denver. Hadley Morrow is with Better Health Together, Spokane, WA. Stacy Wenzl is with Spokane Regional Health District Data Center, Spokane.)
Year2020
Volume110
IssueS2
PagesS235-S241
Publication date2020-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
PublisherAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.2020.305773
PMID32663087
OpenAlexW3042321894
LanguageEN
References cited23

Objectives. To assess health system transformation and alignment in the Better Health Together (BHT) accountable community of health (ACH) region of Eastern Washington. Methods. This trend study leveraged cross-sectional data collected in 2017 and 2019 in Eastern Washington. A total of 165 responses from individuals representing 112 organizations were collected in 2017, and 211 responses from individuals representing 92 organizations were collected in 2019. More than one third (38%; n = 35 organizations) of cases overlapped between the 2 samples. Implementation of the ACH model is the exposure. Outcomes of interest included indicators of system transformation and alignment. Results. Organizations throughout BHT’s region became more engaged, less siloed, and better connected from 2017 to 2019. At least some of the increased connectivity observed was directly attributable to the role BHT played in facilitating the creation or maintenance of interorganizational relationships across Eastern Washington. Conclusions. The ACH model is a promising approach to aligning health and social service systems for population health improvement. Evidence shows that ACH organizations can serve as trusted conveners able to facilitate interorganizational relationships across sectors

Environmental health · Health services · Political science · Population · Population health · Public health · State (computer science) · State of health · Computer Science · Health Policy Implementation Science · Healthcare Policy and Management · Medicine · Nursing · Primary Care and Health Outcomes · Gerontology · Health Policy

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Open DOIOpen Access