title: The Upstream Hospital Leader: Taking Action to Improve Population Health.
abstract: Canadian hospital leaders face numerous barriers when they seek to work upstream in an effort to improve population health. A noted challenge is lack of role clarity. We introduce the concept of an "upstream hospital leader" in an attempt to address this challenge, and suggest behaviours for how this role can advance population health at the individual, organizational and health system levels. These suggestions aim to contribute to the ongoing conversation and growing interest in the role of hospitals in population health improvement. We invite feedback on these suggestions and encourage leaders to explore opportunities where greater upstream action by their hospital and health system can improve population health.
authors.affiliation: The leader of physician performance enhancement at the Vancouver Island Health Authority and an affiliate researcher at the UBC Centre for Health Services and Policy Research.
authors.forename: Ross
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.affiliation: Family physician, founder of Upstream: Institute for a Healthy Society, head of the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine's Division of Social Accountability, and an expert adviser with the Evidence Network.
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Meili
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006739:Hospital Administration / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D011634:Public Health