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Health Policy, Public Health, and Arthritis Among Older Adults

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Geriatric Rheumatology

Abstract

This chapter is designed to review the basics of public health, to highlight its relevance to health-care professionals, and to outline opportunities for the use of health policy in improving and protecting the health of older adults with arthritis. Many public health interventions intersect with the medical system at the level of the individual patient and complement clinical care efforts. Health policies are often designed to have broad effects at the community and population level and to help achieve national public health goals. The unprecedented pace of aging in the US population at the start of the twenty-first century offers a unique challenge and exceptional opportunity to combine the efforts of public health, the health-care system, and health policy to combat the toll arthritis takes on our communities, patients, and country. Health policies, in concert with public health and medical interventions, can be powerful tools to reduce the burden and impact of arthritis.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge Dr. Lynda A. Anderson for her comments on an earlier draft, for providing resources, and for sharing her expertise on older Americans, aging, and public health as relevant to this endeavor. Also, we sincerely thank Mr. William F. Benson for the comments, insights, and encouragement he provided.

This research was performed under an appointment to the Research Participation Program at the CDC, administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education under the contract number DE-AC05–06OR23100 between the US Department of Energy and Oak Ridge Associated Universities.

The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the CDC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy. NE, MS K-51, Atlanta, GA, 30341, USA

    Kristina A. Theis

Authors
  1. Kristina A. Theis
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  2. Debra R. Lubar
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  3. Teresa J. Brady
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kristina A. Theis .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Sanford Health Systems, 32nd Ave S 2400, Fargo, 58103, North Dakota, USA

    Yuri Nakasato

  2. , Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Zina Pitcher Place 109, Ann Arbor, 48109, Michigan, USA

    Raymond L. Yung

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Theis, K.A., Lubar, D.R., Brady, T.J. (2011). Health Policy, Public Health, and Arthritis Among Older Adults. In: Nakasato, Y., Yung, R. (eds) Geriatric Rheumatology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5792-4_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-5792-4_11

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-5792-4

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