TY - JOUR
AU - D. R. Hijano
A1 - 
AB - This conceptual policy analysis examines the persistent gap between population health frameworks and their implementation in practice, using pediatric immunizations as a case example. Declining vaccine coverage and widening geographic disparities illustrate how broad definitions of population health may lack the operational structure needed to guide coordinated governance and delivery. Informed by a structured narrative review of peer-reviewed literature, policy reports, and national surveillance data, the Rainbow Model of Integrated Care is applied to analyze how clinical, professional, organizational, system, functional, and normative domains shape immunization performance across preventive care systems. The analysis identifies policy-relevant levers, including interoperable data infrastructure, alignment of exemption governance, integration of equity-focused payment incentives, community-partnered outreach, and transparent performance monitoring. For each domain, implementation considerations, authority structures, privacy safeguards, resourcing implications, and potential political and ethical trade-offs are examined. Illustrative measurable indicators are proposed to operationalize integration and support accountability. Although grounded primarily in the United States context, the challenges described and structural considerations discussed are relevant to other decentralized health systems. This analysis suggests that structured integration frameworks may assist policymakers in translating population health principles into coordinated and ethically grounded implementation strategies for immunization systems.
AD - Department of Infectious Diseases, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, United States.; Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, United States.
AN - 41929893
BT - Front Public Health
C5 - Healthcare Disparities
DO - 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1749357
DP - NLM
ET - 20260318
JF - Front Public Health
LA - eng
N2 - This conceptual policy analysis examines the persistent gap between population health frameworks and their implementation in practice, using pediatric immunizations as a case example. Declining vaccine coverage and widening geographic disparities illustrate how broad definitions of population health may lack the operational structure needed to guide coordinated governance and delivery. Informed by a structured narrative review of peer-reviewed literature, policy reports, and national surveillance data, the Rainbow Model of Integrated Care is applied to analyze how clinical, professional, organizational, system, functional, and normative domains shape immunization performance across preventive care systems. The analysis identifies policy-relevant levers, including interoperable data infrastructure, alignment of exemption governance, integration of equity-focused payment incentives, community-partnered outreach, and transparent performance monitoring. For each domain, implementation considerations, authority structures, privacy safeguards, resourcing implications, and potential political and ethical trade-offs are examined. Illustrative measurable indicators are proposed to operationalize integration and support accountability. Although grounded primarily in the United States context, the challenges described and structural considerations discussed are relevant to other decentralized health systems. This analysis suggests that structured integration frameworks may assist policymakers in translating population health principles into coordinated and ethically grounded implementation strategies for immunization systems.
PY - 2026
SN - 2296-2565
SP - 1749357
ST - Rethinking population health in practice: pediatric immunizations as a policy and system integration case
T1 - Rethinking population health in practice: pediatric immunizations as a policy and system integration case
T2 - Front Public Health
TI - Rethinking population health in practice: pediatric immunizations as a policy and system integration case
U1 - Healthcare Disparities
U3 - 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1749357
VL - 14
VO - 2296-2565
Y1 - 2026
ER -