Browsing by Author "Jacobson, Eric"
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Item Demographics and Profiles of Delaware’s Elderly(Institute for Public Administration, 2005-05) Jacobson, Eric; O'Hanlon, Julia; Condliffe, Simon; Bennett, Carrie; Sloan, MicheleItem Health Policy Issue Brief 3 - Access to Healthy Foods in the Built Environment(2011-10) Jacobson, Eric; O'Hanlon, Julia; Clark, AmyWhile the United States boasts one of the most abundant food supplies in the world, disparities in access, affordability, and quality have continued to plague communities and neighborhoods throughout the country. With millions of Americans without access to healthy foods, the alarming rates of obesity and diet-related diseases will continue to increase. However, it has recently been demonstrated through promising programs and policies that the challenges to increasing access to healthy foods in underserved communities can be resolved. Delaware continues to be involved in the discussion surrounding this important issue and by utilizing the resources available in the online Toolkit (www.ipa.udel.edu/healthyDEtoolkit), those involved are provided the necessary tools to do so. It is hoped that continuing research on the issue will encourage local, state, and national attention and allow policymakers, community leaders, and advocates to explore solutions that address the role that access to healthy foods plays in promoting healthy economies, healthy communities, and healthy people.Item Health Policy Issue Brief 4 - Access to Healthy Foods in the Built Environment(2015-07) Jacobson, Eric; Homsey, Andrew; Pragg, Sarah; Floros, Emily; Stump, Jessica; Clark, Amy; Miller, PattiWhile the United States boasts one of the most abundant food supplies in the world, disparities in access, affordability, and quality of healthy foods have continued to plague communities across the country. Millions of Americans are living without access to healthy foods, and the alarming rates of obesity and dietrelated diseases continue to increase. Nevertheless, many promising practices and policies implemented within diverse communities demonstrate that the challenges to increasing access to healthy foods in underserved communities can be resolved. Continued research on the issue will encourage local, state, and national attention and allow policymakers, community leaders, and advocates to explore solutions that address the role that access to healthy foods plays in promoting healthy economies, healthy communities, and healthy people.Item The Health-Impact Assessment (HIA): A Useful Tool(2011-02) Jacobson, Eric; DeCoursey, William J.; Rosenberg, NatalieThe purpose of this quick guide is to introduce health-impact assessment—an exciting and relatively new analytic approach to planning healthier communities. “How are existing or planned land use, community design, and transportation policies, projects, or programs affecting or likely to affect public’s health?” (NACCHO). Recently endorsed by the nationwide health promotion plan Healthy People 2020, health-impact assessment is one method local communities can use to begin to address this question. In today’s society, media coverage of health topics such as smoking and obesity has become the norm. Issues that used to be thought of as individual problems have grown into public health concerns and are forcing society to rethink how choices made in various sectors affect health. Health-impact assessments (HIAs) are rapidly growing practices within the United States that can help decision-makers outside of the health sector evaluate the potential health effects of proposed projects and policies. An HIA can be defined as “a combination of procedures, methods and tools by which a policy, program or project may be judged as to its potential effects on the health of a population, and the distribution of those effects within the population” (1999 Gothenburg consensus statement). It is becoming increasingly clear that many of the things that determine health, disease, or injury lie outside of the traditional health sector. Uncovering these determinants is imperative in restoring the nation’s health. Both revolutionary and surprisingly intuitive, the HIA methodology simply seeks to evaluate public-policy decisions on their likely human outcomes. With the central and sole assumption that peoples’ health, vitality, and longevity ought to guide significant policy decisions, HIAs can be used as a planning tool to confront the social determinants of health amid the growing consensus that there are many social, environmental, and economic factors that affect health. There are vast opportunities for the use of HIAs. They can be used to assess the health impacts of seemingly small plans to those of complex land-development efforts. For example, deciding where to place a playground may seem irrelevant, but the realization that children must cross a busy highway to get there could lead to plan revisions that make access more practical and lead to greater use and physical activity. Decisions made regarding community design, development and policy implementation have the potential to impact the health of surrounding populations. safely than when they have the perception of a “neighborhood expressway.”Item The Impact of Senior Centers and Geriatric Healthcare Policy(Institute for Public Administration, 2004-12) Jacobson, Eric; O'Hanlon, Julia; Bennett, Carrie; McCloskey, SarahItem The Quality of Health Care in Delaware: What Delawareans Say About Their Healthcare Experience(2005-06-28T16:36:16Z) Jacobson, Eric; Kennedy, Erin; Whitmore, Charles; Ratledge, EdwardThe purpose of this report is to illustrate how Delawareans rate various health care providers and report on their specific experiences with the health care system—presenting summary results from the 2003 Delaware CAHPS study. The CAHPS survey instrument is a useful guide to policymakers seeking to improve both Delaware’s health plans and the health care providers deliver to patients. It is the intent of this report to supply the relevant stakeholders and policymakers with objective, experience-based information regarding the quality of health care provided in Delaware. Equipped with three years of survey data (2001-2003), we generate comparisons of Delaware to national data benchmarks. We also discuss overall ratings and experiences with care within Delaware, health plan enrollment characteristics, and differences across plan types and regions.Item Summary of Promising Programs to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities(2005-10-13T15:42:51Z) Jacobson, Eric; McCloskey, Sarah; Kennedy, Erin; Sloan, MicheleThis report provides Delaware policymakers with a series of approaches, or best practices, used in other states to address minority health disparities. Since narrowing health disparities has gained greater attention at the national, state, and local levels, this collection of policy options should be considered a work-in-process. In developing this compendium, the research team had the benefit of input and feedback from State of Delaware officials and representatives of the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League. Shortly after IPA began researching promising practices, The Commonwealth Fund published a tremendously valuable 87-page report: A State Policy Agenda to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (June 2004).Item Understanding Demographics, Profiles, and Quality of Life Determinants Related to Delaware’s Senior Population(2014-06) O'Hanlon, Julia; Jacobson, Eric; Watson, VerityAs Delaware’s senior population grows, state and local policymakers and social service professionals will likely undertake new and varied demands for senior services and programs. These demands hail from challenges and opportunities facing seniors in the midst of current economic circumstances and forthcoming systematic changes in national and state policies. In particular, senior citizens are experiencing lifestyle shifts related to the current national economy, changes in the healthcare system, and the need for greater, more accessible mobility and transportation options.