ABSTRACT
Health improvement initiatives utilize the framework of the Five-Dimensional Health Improvement Model™ to build upon a population-based approach to health care that involves a shift from disease-based, individual event-driven health care to a model that considers both the biological and non-biological (behavioral, socioeconomic, environmental) determinants that influence health status. Specific interventions based upon the epidemiology of the targeted population are used to effect changes in the health-illness spectrum. Population-based health improvement relies heavily on public health surveillance tools and epidemiological analysis to determine and manage the disease burden, predictors and
prevalence, as well as measures of the success of interventions. Incorporated into the FiveDimensional Health Improvement Model™
is a triage system that determines levels of intervention ranging from educational mailings for the entire affected population to case management for the more severely ill. All interventions are based on the scientific evidence supporting health improvement guidelines for primary and secondary prevention of stroke.
