The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Commission to Build a Healthier America was created in 2008 to identify ways – beyond health care – to improve the health of all Americans. The Commission issued 10 recommendations. Four years after the release of the recommendations, RWJF is reconvening the Commission to provide new guidance in two key areas: early childhood and healthy communities.
The 2013 commissioners come from a range of sectors including public policy, academia, business, media, health, philanthropy, and community development.
To inform the Commission's convening on June 19, 2013 and its forthcoming recommendations, the Commission welcomes all testimony, comments, and ideas related to its charge.
Submit commentsThe Commission investigated why Americans aren’t as healthy as they could be and looked outside the health care system for ways to improve health for all. Here is a selection of the most popular reports, maps, videos, and tools from the Commission's 2008 to 2009 tenure.
According to the Commission, how long and how well Americans live depend more on where we live, learn, work and play than on medical care.
See the recommendations
This issue brief examines how social and economic conditions shape children's health and the strong evidence that disadvantages in early childhood can limit children's opportunities for health throughout life.
Read the issue brief
This issue brief examines the current evidence linking neighborhoods and health, the opportunities for Americans to live in healthy neighborhoods, and promising programs and interventions to make neighborhoods healthier places to live, learn and play.
Read the issue briefD.C. Metro: A Short Distance to Large Disparities in Health
View the map
How can a school’s architecture improve physical activity and eating options for children? Researchers, architects, and a rural Virginia community came together to transform the Buckingham Elementary School—with inspiring results.
For residents of low-income neighborhoods in Minneapolis-St. Paul, a new commuter rail line could be the ticket to better health.
Renovations to the Booth Memorial Childcare Center in Oakland, Calif., improved the health of children and employees, showing that health really is about where we live, learn, work, and play.