Health in All Policies stems from the observation that, while health care is important, the environments in which we live, learn, play, work, and grow affect our health more. These environments determine access to healthful living conditions such as safe and affordable housing, quality schools, transportation options, and good jobs. To ensure a healthy future for all, people who influence policies and programs must work together to create equitable opportunity to access these vital conditions, while also promoting their overarching agency, legislative, business, or departmental objectives. In Health in All Policies, policies may include a variety of activities, including governmental and organizational policies, contracting, program development, planning, operational practices, and more.

Health in All Policies is an innovative, collaborative, and systems-level approach to work across sectors and organizations, to identify public and private policies that can restore equitable and healthful living conditions, and align organizational goals. This approach can support public and private sector-specific goals, such as those of housing, transportation, education, or planning agencies, but can also simultaneously:

• promote health, quality of life, and resilience
• reduce inequities, as well as health care and other societal costs
• support economic prosperity for people and places

The Georgia Health Policy Center is a national leader in applying a Health in All Policies approach with a wide range of partners and stakeholders. The center uses a variety of tools, including health impact assessment (HIA), and systems thinking to identify a range of effective, and innovative solutions. With more than 30 years of cumulative relevant expertise, the team has worked at the national, state, and local levels to implement this approach, while  building the capacity of partner organizations and communities to accelerate new ways of thinking, working, engaging, and collaborating.

Health in All Policies Fact Sheet