Many factors influence individual health beyond clinical services, including socioeconomic status, education, housing, nutrition, and more. Given this, optimizing the nation’s health requires coordinated, shared responsibility across various sectors, and these efforts must be reflected in the programs, activities, and initiatives of the entire executive branch of government. While the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a substantial responsibility in advancing the health of the nation, other federal departments and agencies can also have a significant impact on disease prevention and health promotion. Health in All Policies (HiAP) is a strategy that considers the factors that influence health across all levels of policymaking to improve health outcomes.
In this study, the Bipartisan Policy Center explores how three executive branch departments—the U.S. Department of Education (ED), U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury), and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)—currently implement a HiAP approach and how these departments can build on these efforts. The report is not meant to be an exhaustive examination, but it does highlight specific examples from these departments, and it offers considerations and recommendations to those departments and to the Executive Office of the President of the United States to expand on this approach.