This brief, four-word phrase -- " Think Populations …. See Individuals " --emphasizes the need for system-wide thinking and planning that is population-based, while continuing to provide service that concentrates on meeting the needs of individuals. It is planning for the population's needs and caring for the individuals who are part of that population. We develop policies and practices that are designed to improve the collective health of the overall population and we carry out these practices on specific individuals. They are complementary ideas! Population health is improved by caring health professionals interacting one-on-one with individual patients at the bedside, in the exam room, in the field, in the shot line, at the deck plate; but, these individual practices need to be under the umbrella of population-based planning and systems thinking.
[Public Health role] [OSHA/EPA perspective] [Balancing Thinking & Doing] [Challenges]
GILS Registration #DOD-TBD-000098
Author: HMC J. A. Shuck; Code: PM
Webmaster: D. Savage, Code: OD
Date of last revision: 18 December 1998
Approved by: Mr. John Fabre, CIO; DSN: 253-5454