Population Health and Public Health Surveillance
Understanding how communities approach health, specifically health behavior, is vital to meeting the health needs of communities. Primary data collection using environmental markers, biomarkers, surveys, and interviews is a critical tool in grasping and monitoring a population’s health status.
Gathering high-quality, representative population health information from individuals can be challenging, especially for under-resourced populations, such as those residing in rural Appalachia. The Health Affairs Institute brings proven methods to overcome these challenges and in-depth knowledge of the cultural nuances, geographical, and technological challenges specific to Appalachia.
We offer our partners access to expert consultants with worldwide and federal level experience in public health programs, policy, and population-based data collection, along with specialized industry knowledge within academic networks. Health Affairs is uniquely positioned to share these resources and insights throughout Appalachia; most of our staff were born, raised, and work in the Mountain State.
Our aptitude for primary data collection spans quantitative and qualitative methods, offering services in developing and implementing health surveys, focus groups, key informant interviews, and case series studies. We fortify this process further by analyzing social determinants and seeking out community stakeholders for public health input, ensuring thoughtful, culturally competent, and community-focused consideration.
In addition to meticulous data collection and analysis, Health Affairs specializes in thoughtful data interpretation and dissemination. We help our partners reach target audiences through strategic and impactful surveillance summaries, medical and epidemiologic journal articles, press releases, and social media.