Improving population health one person at a time? Accountable care organisations: perceptions of population health--a qualitative interview study.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

This qualitative interview study explored perceptions of the phrases 'population health', 'public health' and 'community health'.

Setting

Accountable care organisations (ACOs), and public health or similar agencies in different parts of the USA.

Participants

Purposive sample of 29 interviewees at four ACOs, and 10 interviewees at six public health or similar agencies.

Results

Interviewees working for ACOs most often viewed 'population health' as referring to a defined group of their organisation's patients, though a few applied the phrase to people living in a geographical area. In contrast, interviewees working for public health agencies were more likely to consider 'population health' from a geographical perspective.

Conclusions

Conflating ge

SUBMITTER: Noble DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4010822 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature