The Academy for Population Health Innovation (APHI) was established in 2016 as a unique affiliation between Mecklenburg County Public Health and The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  The partnership acts as a framework to strengthen cooperation, coordination, and exchange of resources that enhance both organizations’ mission to improve population health. APHI members, including faculty, students, and health department employees, collaborate to identify health issues and improve public/population health concerns.

 

APHI's mission is to develop innovative solutions to address the Charlotte area’s most pressing community health needs and priorities.  We do this by supporting innovation and implementation of evidence-based community health practices, coordinating training programs and professional education, securing external funding for research, and expanding MCPH's ability to systematically collect, analyze, and interpret health-related data needed for the implementation and evaluation of public health practice.

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Why are some people healthy and others struggle with health problems?  Throughout life, health is determined by complex interactions between social and economic factors, the physical environment, genetics, medical care, public health interventions and individual behaviors that do not exist in isolation from each other.  Population health addresses the patterns of, and relationships among, these drivers of health and the resulting individual and community outcomes.

 

APHI's work focuses on identifying factors that influence the health of the Mecklenburg County population and then applies the resulting knowledge to develop and implement evidence-based practices and policies to improve community health and well-being.  APHI seeks to be a thought leader in exploring opportunities to use data and advanced analytics to improve the health of all Mecklenburg County residents.

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APHI utilizes non-traditional partnerships among different sectors of the community – public health, business, the academic community, health care providers, local government entities, and others – to work together and achieve positive health outcomes. By strengthening partnerships with key regional public health organizations and local government, APHI works to develop new initiatives and implement promising practices and approaches in order to make Mecklenburg County a place where everyone has a chance to live a long, healthy life.