A health program is a comprehensive approach to address a specific health issue. It may consist of many interrelated activities such as research, policy development, training, and public education. Health programs are aimed at improving the health of individuals and communities, while reducing risk factors for certain diseases. Health programs are designed to ensure that children grow up healthy and are able to learn, that workers can perform their jobs at a high level and stay healthy as they age, and that the population is protected against threats such as infectious diseases and environmental hazards.
The most important goal of a health program is to protect and improve the quality of life. These programs seek to minimize disease and disability, promote well-being, ensure that people are able to get the care they need when they need it, and enable society to achieve its most cherished values.
There are numerous health programs in the US and around the world that are targeted at a wide variety of health issues. Some of these programs are highly specialized (e.g., a clinic for cerebral palsy with a multidisciplinary team including a developmental pediatrician, orthopedic surgeon, physiatrist, and neurologist). Others are designed to reach large numbers of people at a relatively low cost and minimal time commitment, such as the vaccination and treatment programs against HIV, drug-susceptible tuberculosis, and malaria.
Often, the key to success of health programs lies in their ability to generate and sustain political commitment to action. Compelling data and evidence, highlighting unacceptable disease burdens, disparities, and threats to health, and communicating real-life examples of individuals harmed or helped by specific programs can help build broad coalitions of stakeholders that support public health actions.
Other challenges to successful health programs include the availability of financial and human resources, technical capacity, and the quality of existing systems (e.g., medical services, insurance coverage, transportation, food and water supplies), as well as behavioral changes, community attitudes, and politics. In addition, scalability is often an issue – it may be difficult to develop a technical package that is feasible for widespread use and effective for a very large number of people (e.g., standardized immunization schedules, a standard treatment regimen for HIV/AIDS).
The success of health programs depends on several important elements: innovation to develop or adapt existing technology; a practical technical package with a limited number of high-priority, evidence-based interventions that can have a significant impact; management effectiveness through rigorous monitoring and evaluation, as well as implementation; communication with the general public to motivate behavior change and engage civil society; and partnerships and coalitions to strengthen and expand capacity. The eradication of smallpox, tuberculosis control, tobacco control, and the polio vaccine are all examples of successful health programs that have been able to address these elements. The future of health care will require that these same elements be addressed in the context of new technologies and other emerging health care challenges.