Improving Public Health System Performance Through Multiorganizational Partnerships

Public health activities in the United States are delivered through multiple public and private organizations that vary widely in their resources, missions and operations. Without strong coordination mechanisms, these delivery arrangements may perpetuate large gaps, inequities and inefficiencies in public health activities. The authors examined evidence and uncertainties concerning the use of partnerships to improve the performance of the public health system, with a special focus on partnerships between public health agencies and health care organizations.

This study found that the types of partnerships likely to have the largest and most direct effects on population health are among the most difficult, and therefore least prevalent, forms of collaboration. High opportunity costs and weak and diffuse participation incentives hinder partnerships that focus on expanding effective prevention programs and policies. Targeted policy actions and leadership strategies are required to illuminate and enhance partnership incentives.

This article is part of a special supplement of Preventing Chronic Disease: Public Health Research, Practice, and Policy.

Special Journal Issue of Preventing Chronic Disease Focuses on Community Partnerships to Improve Population Health

  1. 1 Challenges and Opportunities for Population Health Partnerships
  2. 2 Improving Public Health System Performance Through Multiorganizational Partnerships
  3. 3 Focusing on Solid Partnerships Across Multiple Sectors for Population Health Improvement
  4. 4 Multisectoral Lessons from Healthy Communities
  5. 5 Building Multisectoral Partnerships for Population Health and Health Equity
  6. 6 Multisector Partnerships in Population Health Improvement
  7. 7 Networks as a Type of Social Entrepreneurship to Advance Population Health
  8. 8 Improving Population Health
  9. 9 Designing Vermont's Pay-for-Population Health System
  10. 10 Observations and Recommendations from the Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health (MATCH) Expert Meeting

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