A report released by Manatt Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Nemours Children’s Health System details how organizations can launch a Children's Health and Wellness Fund.
Manatt Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Nemours Children’s Health System released a brief Thursday morning about how children and their families can benefit from investments in social determinants of health (SDOH), and how organizations can launch and implement them.
According to the brief, addressing SDOH needs for children and their families is critical in light of “the strong evidence that investments in the earliest years can have a potent impact on children’s development and their ability to thrive and grow to be healthier adults."
The report details the "pathway" in which organizations can implement a Children's Health and Wellness Fund.
Additionally, the report covers how organizations can launch a fund, and how to address the following issues:
- The overall framework for the fund and the activities it supports.
- Fund responsibilities and mechanisms for oversight.
- Potential sources of funding.
- Program accountability and evaluation.
"Critically, all these decisions require leadership from and close collaboration with the community to be served and a consistent and focused attention on promoting equity," Cindy Mann and Mandy Ferguson, coauthors of the report, wrote. "The development of a Children’s Health and Wellness offers an important opportunity at a critical moment in time to bring together stakeholders— including states, cities, health systems, and community residents—to shape, sustainably finance, and deliver a whole child approach to supporting children and their families."
This report was released over a month after another Manatt study found that many states are implementing or considering putting prescription drug affordability commission in place to reduce drug spending.
Related: Technology Vendors Embrace Social Determinants of Health
Related: Equality Health Embeds Social Determinants of Health in Care Delivery
Melanie Blackman is the strategy editor at HealthLeaders, an HCPro brand.