2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

Home Events & Meetings Annual Meeting Schedule & Program

Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

333202
Making health in all policies a reality in Richmond: Lessons learned and recommendations


Monday, November 2, 2015 : 2:50 p.m. - 3:10 p.m.

Sally Lacy, MA, Chronic Disease Department, Richmond City Health District, Richmond, VA
Michael Royster, MD, MPH, FACPM, Institute of Public Health Innovation, Richmond, VA
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
In 2014 the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ranked Richmond #121 out of 133 Virginia counties in health outcomes, and #129 in social/economic factors that shape health outcomes. Across the city, a 23-year difference in life expectancy exists between census tracts. Areas of poor health directly overlap with neighborhoods where decades of segregation-based policies have systematically disadvantaged communities of color and low-income residents, concentrating poverty into specific neighborhoods. 

To address the root causes of these dramatic health inequities, representatives from the local health department, government, school system, and regional public health institute have led efforts to establish an all-governmental health in all policies (HiAP) approach to guide decision-making across the city. This team has educated and gained the support of city leadership and elected officials, and aligned the HiAP effort with existing priorities, including the Mayor’s poverty-reduction taskforce and the city’s strategic plan. Successes to date include passage of a HiAP resolution by city council, and agreement to integrate HiAP into the city’s Strategic Plan and its seven prescribed work-groups.  Next steps will include a two-day HiAP workshop for executive and departmental city leadership, adaptation of tools to support the use of a HiAP lens in routine decision-making, and identification of additional opportunities to align HiAP with local priorities.  

This presentation shares lessons learned, challenges, and recommendations on forming crucial partnerships, promoting understanding of HiAP and its importance, and providing city leaders with the tools and knowledge they need to make HiAP considerations sustainable components of decision-making across all sectors.

Learning Areas:

Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Describe one city's experience - including barriers faced and progress made - with implementing all-governmental Health in All Policies into decision-making and daily operations. Formulate next steps for initiating or expanding HiAP discussion/implementation in the learner's city. Identify ways in which HiAP implementation can address root causes of health inequities and promote social justice in the population.

Keyword(s): Public Health Policy, Underserved Populations

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have worked on the Richmond HiAP Team since mid-2014 and faciltated team meetings, represented the team at planning meetings with local government officials, and developed presentations and other communication documents on the purpose and process of HiAP for local city leaders and other audiences. My academic and professional background include extensive training in the social determinants of health, a key component of HiAP.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3389.0: Partnerships for Health in All Policies