A new research project to be conducted by the Ford School in partnership with the School of Public Health will build a national evidence base for Health in All Policies (HiAP), a strategy used by policy leaders to integrate health considerations as they develop, implement, and evaluate other policies.
HiAP emphasizes cross-sector collaboration, community engagement, and governmental involvement. Though the approach has attracted considerable attention from policymakers and practitioners alike, there is no comprehensive empirical research on HiAP initiatives in the U.S.
Building the Evidence for Health in All Policies, co-led by Paula Lantz, associate dean of research and policy engagement at the Ford School, and Peter Jacobson of the U-M School of Public Health, aims to conduct a comprehensive investigation of representative local and state Health in All Policies activities to date.
First, the team will design and implement a comprehensive database of HiAP initiatives at all phases of completion. Second, they will conduct 10 in-depth case studies, examining qualitative and quantitative data to determine how HiAPs are developed, structured, and implemented. The cases will also identify primary outcomes, assess law and policy change strategies, and recommend specific legal and policy tools to accelerate the impact of HiAP efforts.
This project is one piece of U-M’s new Policies for Action Research Hub, a $1.2 million collaboration to produce research to inform the laws, policies, and initiatives necessary to strengthen progress toward health equity. The hub, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is led by a steering committee comprised of multidisciplinary faculty with expertise in more than 15 different disciplines, representing nine different schools and research institutes at U-M.
Paula Lantz is associate dean for research and policy engagement and a professor of public policy at the Ford School. Dr. Lantz, a social demographer, studies the role of public health in health care reform and social inequalities in health.