Thursday, February 28, 2008

RWJF Launches Commission to Look Beyond Medical Care System to Improve the Health of All Americans

(from the rwjf alerts)



New Report Finds That Poor, Minority and Middle-Class Americans With Less Education Live Sicker and Die Younger

Coinciding with the release of a new report describing the current health profile of Americans—looking specifically at how education, income, race and ethnicity play a role in Americans' health—the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has announced the formation of a new commission to identify and promote workable, evidence-based solutions to address the many non-medical influences on health and improve opportunities for all Americans to make healthier choices.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Commission to Build a Healthier America will investigate how factors beyond the medical care system affect personal behavioral choices. Mark McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., former FDA commissioner and administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and Alice Rivlin, Ph.D., former director of the Office of Management and Budget, will co-chair the commission.

"The evidence tells us that whether or not a person gets sick in the first place often has little to do with their health care," said RWJF President and CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A. "A far greater determinant of a person's health is the relationship between how we live our lives and the surrounding economic, social and physical environment. This commission will take a fresh look at factors such as these to identify innovative ways to make ours a healthier nation."

Learn more.
Read the Overcoming Obstacles to Health report.



You have received this e-mail alert because you have elected to receive information from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on one or more of the following program areas: Addiction Prevention & Treatment, Building Human Capital, Childhood Obesity, Disparities, Health Insurance Coverage, Nursing, Long-Term Care, Pioneer, Public Health, Quality Health Care, Tobacco Use & Exposure, Vulnerable Populations.

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