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March 2007 (Volume 85)
Quarterly Article
David A. Kindig
December 2024
Dec 19, 2024
Back to The Milbank Quarterly
Population health is a relatively new term, with no agreement about whether it refers to a concept of health or a field of study of health determinants. There is debate, sometimes heated, about whether population health and public health are identical or different. Discussions of population health involve many terms, such as outcomes, disparities, determinants, and risk factors, which may be used imprecisely, particularly across different disciplines, such as medicine, epidemiology, economics, and sociology. Nonetheless, thinking and communicating clearly about population health concepts are essential for public and private policymakers to improve the population’s health and reduce disparities. This article defines and discusses many of the terms and concepts characterizing this emerging field.
Author(s): David A. Kindig
Keywords: population health; public health; health outcomes; health determinants; health production function
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Volume 85, Issue 1 (pages 139–161) DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0009.2007.00479.x Published in 2007
