1

Introduction¹

On December 16, 2021, the Roundtable on Population Health Improvement held its fifth and final workshop of the year, titled Economic Innovations to Support Health, Equity, and Well-Being: Exploring Policies that Further the Well-Being of Care Economy Workers. The workshop was held entirely virtually via webcast. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, roundtable co-chair and vice dean for population health and health equity at the University of California, San Francisco, welcomed viewers and offered a land acknowledgment on behalf of the National Academies hosts of the event, conveying gratitude and respect to the Nacotchtank Piscataway people and elders whose lands are occupied by the District of Columbia. Bibbins-Domingo provided a brief overview of the roundtable’s vision and mission, and past relevant work, including explorations of several facets of the economic drivers of health, from business and health care sector investments, to the design of tax policies to support the work of population health improvement. The present event, she noted, was taking place at a time of economic and social upheaval exacerbated by the pandemic and racial injustice that had recently risen to national attention in an unprecedented way, with hardships that intensely affected care economy workers—those

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¹ The planning committee’s role was limited to planning the workshop, and the Proceedings of a Workshop has been prepared by the workshop rapporteur as a factual summary of what occurred at the workshop. Statements, recommendations, and opinions expressed are those of individual presenters and participants, and are not necessarily endorsed or verified by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and they should not be construed as reflecting any group consensus.

who care for the youngest and the oldest members of society, as well as for people with disabilities.

The workshop was planned by a small group led by roundtable member Kosali Simon, of Indiana University, and also including Jason Purnell of BJC Health, Rita Hamad of the University of California, San Francisco, and Debbie Chang of the Blue Shield of California Foundation. Rachel Wick, also of Blue Shield of California Foundation, provided additional assistance, along with roundtable staff Alina Baciu, Ayshia Coletrane, Alexandra Andrada, and Maggie Anderson. The planning committee’s task is provided in Box 1-1.

The organization of this proceedings follows the workshop agenda. Chapter 2 outlines historical and economic forces and the care workers’ movement that has been building over the past decade. Chapter 3 summarizes the presentations and discussion about challenges experienced by this workforce, and highlights some promising practices and models. Chapter 4 provides an overview and discussion of the policies and policy issues that shape the care economy of today, and potentially that of the future. Chapter 5 offers an overview of a brief practical exercise conducted via videoconference breakout groups, and some closing reflections. Each chapter includes brief highlights near the beginning, and overarching highlights drawn from the entire event are provided below. There are four appendixes, including references, workshop agenda, speaker and planning committee biosketches, and select readings and resources provided in the workshop attendee packet.

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