Rooted in the IHI Triple Aim framework — improving the patient experience of care, enhancing population health, and reducing per capita cost — IHI has partnered with hundreds of organizations to improve the health of populations since 2009. This foundational principle has evolved to embrace the Quintuple Aim, which additionally prioritizes the well-being of the health care workforce and the advancement of health equity. 

A commonly accepted definition of population health, as articulated by Drs. David Kindig and Greg Stoddardt, is “the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group.” These groups are often geographic populations such as nations or communities, but can also be other groups such as employees, ethnic groups, disabled persons, prisoners, or any other defined group.

IHI's Pathways to Population Health comprehensive framework and resources are designed to guide health and health care organizations in their journey to improve the health, well-being, and equity of the populations they serve. Developed in collaboration with key partners like the American Hospital Association, Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement, Public Health Institute, and Stakeholder Health, this framework provides a common language, aligned strategies, and practical tools for making measurable improvement in the health and well-being of the population(s) of focus.

Pathways to Population Health provides a roadmap for health and health care change agents to shift from a primary focus on "sick care" to a more holistic approach that prioritizes health and well-being for entire communities.

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IHI’s focus on population health includes the following:

• Pathways to Population Health Resources — a full range of resources based on our practical framework for advancing population health
• The development and testing of change packages and guides to support specific population segments (e.g., persons with behavioral health needs)
• Large-scale campaigns and other population health initiatives to improve population outcomes at scale, with a particular focus on advancing equity
• Strategic guidance to both organizations advancing population health and multistakeholder efforts to improve health and well-being in communities
• Customized offerings to build capacity and capability for population and community health improvement
• Assessments, development of population health strategic plans, and capability-building to advance population health for nations, states, localities and large health systems