Population Health is an approach and way of thinking. The programs and services at ACNS incorporate the indicators to health (Social determinants of health) to create opportunities and mechanisms to improve health within our communities (populations). Communities refers to a collective of people who define themselves based on commonality or self identification, this can be described as a population.
The population health approach recognizes that health is a capacity or resource rather than a state, a definition which corresponds more to the notion of being able to pursue one’s goals, to acquire skills and education, and to grow. This broader notion of health recognizes the range of social, economic and physical environmental factors that contribute to health.
ACNS works with organizations and communities addressing HIV/AIDS prevention, support and capacity building to reduce harm and improve the health. The best articulation of this concept of health is “the capacity of people to adapt to, respond to, or control life’s challenges and changes” (Frankish et al., 1996).