Giving Compass' Take:

· Alonzo L. Plough, and Anita Chandra examine data and information about how we're measuring and achieving a culture of health in America. 

· What social determinants and other barriers are limiting progress on this initiative? What advances have been made towards achieving equitable access to healthcare for all individuals? 

· Learn how libraries help foster a culture of health. 

It's been four years since the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), along with the RAND Corporation, began using a set of national measures to help track our journey toward a culture where every person has a fair and just opportunity to live the healthiest life possible—regardless of where they live, how much they earn, or the color of their skin.

Our goals were to offer some catalytic signals of change with a focus on broader social and economic drivers of health, well-being, and equity. The initial set of measures were used to track how diverse stakeholders, including those outside the traditional health sector, were advancing health and well-being—and if and how health equity was improving.

Developing a clearer picture of what is changing via the Culture of Health measures can guide those who are working collaboratively to accelerate improvements. We offer a few highlights from recent updates to the measures and share some data on our progress to date.

What Has Changed?
Since 2015, what do the data tell us about our progress in creating a Culture of Health in America?

We are seeing small but positive changes in the appreciation of the social determinants of health and the need for broader community health investments. However, there has been less movement in many of the structural and systems-level factors that critically influence health, well-being and equity.

Read the full article about measuring a culture of health in America by Alonzo L. Plough and Anita Chandra at RAND Corporation.