Applying population health science principles to guide behavioral health policy setting

Many behaviors, such as smoking and overeating, strongly affect a population’s health. Further, social, physical, and economic contexts—for example, housing, transportation, education, and employment-shape health-related behaviors. To improve a population’s health, policies must include actions that alter elements of these larger contexts. But the elements are vast and complex, and resources are limited. How can policymakers determine the right priorities to focus on? Building on the emerging field of population health science, we suggest four principles to guide priority setting: view population health as a continuum, focus on affecting ubiquitous influences on health, consider the trade-offs between efficiency and equity, and evaluate return on investment. This proposal offers a novel approach to setting policy for improving health behaviors.