Policy Innovation for Health

Policy Innovations for Health Policy Innovations for Health Edited by Ilona Kickbusch, Graduate Institute of International and Developmental Studies, Geneva The facts are hard to ignore: rising rates of chronic disease, epidemic obesity and diabetes, a widening longevity gap between rich and poor, health care "reforms" at odds with patient interests. It has become increasingly clear that changes in the existing health care system will not be sufficient to maintain and improve our health at this historical juncture. In response, Policy Innovations for Health argues that that we need to shift course and apply a radically new mindset to health and health policy. The pressure for policy innovation shifts from a focus on the health care system to a reorganization of how we approach health in 21st century societies. This change calls for new mechanisms through which we conduct health policy and it calls for an inclusion of many actors in the policy process: health care providers, policy makers from many sectors, communities, consumers, patients and the private sector. The long-term strategies outlined in this book emphasize collaboration within government through Health in All Policy approaches and beyond government through new partnerships for health. The authors provide many concrete examples of new policy approaches and implementation from different parts of Europe and at different levels of governance, local, regional, national and European. Case studies of policy innovations for health from Portugal, Wales and Germany illustrate in detail how such policies can bridge the gaps between prevention, health promotion, and healthcare; and improve core health determinants such as living conditions, education, and social supports. These social, political, medical, and technological advances, assert the authors, are crucial to meeting the challenges of the decades ahead. Among the topics covered: Health as a central economic and societa