HealthPartners developing new measure of health to include well-being

Details published in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention journal

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — HealthPartners is expanding the way it assesses health to include well-being. It is developing a summary measure of health and well-being and details are jointly published by the National Academy of Medicine and by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Preventing Chronic Disease.

For more than 20 years, HealthPartners has been analyzing clinical and claims data to improve areas such as preventive care, management of chronic diseases and healthy behaviors such as not using tobacco, being physically active, moderate use of alcohol and eating fruits and vegetables.

Building on that approach, HealthPartners is focusing on a measurement that will be used to improve health and well-being. An annual survey that began in 2015 measures members’ level of life satisfaction. The survey asks members about seven areas that affect well-being: emotional and physical functioning, career satisfaction, having adequate finances, having good social relations, community support and having a sense of meaning and purpose.

Summary measure of well-being

The survey information is part of the summary measure that consists of three components:

• Disability or years of life lost to death before age 75
• Life-style choices such as physical activity, sleep, diet and alcohol and tobacco use
• Subjective well-being and life satisfaction

“This can help more accurately assess our progress on improving health and well-being because health is not just the absence of disease, it is having an overall positive life experience,” said Tom Kottke, MD, who was recently named Medical Director for Well-Being at HealthPartners. Kottke is a cardiologist and also serves as a Senior Clinical Investigator at HealthPartners Institute.

National and international measures of well-being

Other organizations that measure well-being include the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In 2013, the OECD established the first set of guidelines that look beyond a nation’s economic performance to provide a broader picture of well-being. . In addition, the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being annual report ranks 189 communities on well-being. In the 2015 report, Minnesota ranks in the top 10 states in the nation.

HealthPartners plans to develop a measure of well-being for children and adolescents in the next 3-5 years.