Creating pathways to a healthier nation
A technology-forward approach for integrated public health transformation in America
Today’s public health priorities and challenges are far too complex and intertwined to tackle in isolation. To build a healthier nation that’s prepared for everything from emergency response to chronic health issues, we need to break down silos, share information, and embrace a more integrated and data-driven approach to public health mission delivery.
That’s what creating pathways is all about. We support our nation’s federal health agencies and programs by optimizing data, the workforce, and collaboration across the public health enterprise—working to strengthen the system and build public health capacity to ensure everyone has access to a healthy life. Explore our insights below to learn how we can work together and create pathways you need to support your agency’s mission.
Data holds the key to improved health outcomes, but it is often siloed, inaccessible, inaccurate, or incomplete—slowing public health agencies down when they need to accelerate. Two-thirds of agency mission leaders say that decision-makers are often or always disconnected from the data they need to guide their organization, and more than three-fourths report that the decision-makers don’t know how to access the data they do have.
To address this and make critical decisions about public health policy and interventions more effectively, agencies must focus on creating better pathways between data sets, the workforce, and technology tools and systems.
Data and technology can’t deliver on public health missions without a skilled and dedicated workforce.
Agencies have an opportunity to strengthen workforce resilience by hiring the right people, retaining them, and providing them with the tools they need to upskill—especially as nearly half of agency mission leaders say that limited working knowledge of digital solutions is a staffing challenge, and even more expect AI to be a hiring and upskilling necessity. With strong training and upskilling programs in place, agencies can create new pathways for our public health workforce.
For large government programs to succeed, "on-the-ground" workers at the state and local levels must have access to the necessary information and resources to deliver services. Yet many still rely on outdated and underused technology that siloes data within agencies, contributing to a cumbersome public health system that’s slow to react to emerging time-sensitive threats.
Federal agencies must create smoother pathways to share critical information more efficiently and collaborate with the front lines faster, and public health researchers and practitioners across the country need clearer pathways and greater access to data so they can connect across regions and disciplines.
Our latest eBook explores how public leaders can address their most complex challenges by creating pathways that tackle everything from health equity and cancer research to technical support and workforce development. Download the full eBook to learn more.