The 天美影视传媒 is a truly global university, with partners聽and projects聽in 129聽nations around the world. One unit that has built a worldwide network of collaborators is the , which seeks to use data to聽support聽decision-making on a range of issues related to health and health care. Two of its partners are China CDC and the Center for Health Statistics & Information (CHSI), both of which I had the pleasure聽of visiting today.
At China CDC, Director General Wang Yu and his team outlined how improving population health is a聽national聽priority for China.聽聽Like us, they recognize the importance of聽global health efforts, and they too are involved in Africa. We share the belief that in an increasingly interconnected world, health problems anywhere, if left unattended, can become health problems everywhere.
The challenges China faces will be familiar to anyone who follows health issues in the United States, such as the rising cost of health care. For example, the average Beijing resident spends $1,100 USD per year on health services.聽Yet in a province 100 kilometers away, the per capita cost is $600, with little difference between the two in聽residents鈥櫬爃ealth outcomes.
At the same time, there are many health disparities between聽and within聽provinces聽and counties, just as there are between and within states聽and communities in the U.S. The data collected by CHSI, led by Director General Meng Qun, is diving into those disparities. The scale of the task 鈥� this really is聽big聽data, he said 鈥� is immense.聽In one project,聽CHSI is聽collecting information from 900,000聽hospitals聽on聽80 million in- and out-patient visits per year.聽Through聽this聽comprehensive approach, CHSI is providing key information to decision-makers, such as the聽growing聽economic impact of cancer on China鈥檚 population.
During both visits, we talked about ways to build on the partnerships between the UW and these health agencies, for the benefit of practitioners, policymakers and people in the United States, China and around the world.聽This could include everything from efforts in implementation science,聽, to partnerships that take a truly multidisciplinary approach to health.
Key to delivering that benefit 鈥� to truly improving health and well-being 鈥� will be putting data聽to work, as we鈥檙e doing in our efforts to examine health disparities. Ali Mokdad, professor of global health聽and vice chair of聽the聽, likes to say, 鈥淲hen you see a disparity, you ask 鈥榃hy?鈥�” In answering that question 鈥� in finding out why a given community is experiencing a disparity 鈥� you can learn how to improve the health and well-being of not just the people in that one community, but in communities like it and in society as a whole.
We鈥檙e聽not聽going to聽make meaningful gains in health by treating people only聽after聽they start to experience problems. For a range of reasons 鈥� from cost-effectiveness to simple morality聽鈥� we must聽address these issues before they happen, and that takes a broad-based approach.聽Medical care is vital, but as聽we and our colleagues in China聽are learning, it聽must聽be part of聽a聽holistic approach that looks at diet and nutrition, how our built environments affect health, the effects of聽economic and social inequities, and a range of other factors that affect the聽well-being of聽every single one聽of us.
That鈥檚聽the power of population health, and it鈥檚 why I鈥檓 so excited about the potential we have聽to strengthen partnerships with global colleagues who share our passion for the greater good.