Health Policy and Environmental Strategies

Some public health challenges can be solved at the community level. However, since poor health is often the result of factors that are beyond the community's control, other challenges require policy and regulatory solutions that are best implemented at the governmental or organizational levels.

At HRiA, our ability to act as both advocates for better health policy as well as consultants to today's public health leaders gives us a unique vantage point from which to contribute to healthier communities. We regularly scan the environment to identify public health challenges that can benefit from policy or systems changes. We frequently mobilize community leaders to address public and environmental health problems. We often serve as a neutral convener to move important health issues forward.

As a result of our active role in the public health policy domain, we are effective partners with public agencies and private organizations that may need to extend their resources to handle the planning and implementation of a specific policy or program. We are advisers to government officials and community leaders who wish to become more effective public health leaders. We are knowledgeable resources for those who wish to participate in building policies and promoting best practices for sustainable health improvements.

HRiA has a broad range of approaches to promoting health policy and practice:

• Proactively identifying and advancing public health policies and environmental strategies that serve to promote population health
• Developing bold approaches to address emerging and persistent health problems arising from institutional, political, environmental, cultural, and socio-economic factors
• Providing consulting and research support for organizational and community leaders, government officials, philanthropists, and regulators interested in promoting prevention-oriented systems change and best practices
• Mobilizing community leaders to develop and advocate for policy solutions to public and environmental health problems
• Publishing Issue Briefs and pursuing media strategies to raise awareness and build support for health policies and best practices that enable sustainable health improvements.