PSE Change
Welcome to the Policy Systems and Environmental Change Page.
Healthy Belvedere sees Policy, Systems and Environmental change (PSE) as a new way of thinking about how to effectively improve health in a community. For many years, health programs have focused on individual behavior, assuming that if you teach people what will make them healthy, they will find a way to do it. Unfortunately, being healthy is not just about individual choices.
Today, we’re realizing that it’s not enough to know how to be healthy – you need practical, readily available healthy options around you. That’s where policy, systems and environmental change comes in.
What is Policy, Systems and Environmental Change?
Policy, systems and environmental change is a way of modifying the environment to make healthy choices practical and available to all community members. By changing laws and shaping physical landscapes, a big impact can be made with little time and resources. By changing policies, systems and/or environments, communities can help tackle health issues like obesity, diabetes, cancer and other chronic diseases.
Why is PSE important to Healthy Belvedere?
Where you live affects how you live – you simply can’t make healthy decisions if healthy options aren’t available to you. It is estimated that one in two people in Belvedere Park has a chronic illness. Healthy Belvedere believes that policy, systems and environmental change makes healthier choices a real, feasible option for every member of the Belvedere Community by looking at the laws, rules and environments that impact our behavior.
What is policy change?
Policy interventions may be a law, ordinance, resolution, mandate, regulation, or rule (both formal and informal).
Example: Organizational policies that provide time off during work hours for physical activity.
What is systems change?
Systems interventions are changes that impact all elements of an organization, institution, or system.
Types of systems include: school, transportation, parks and recreation, etc.
What is environmental change?
Environmental interventions involve physical or material changes to the economic, social, or physical environment.
Example: Incorporating sidewalks, paths, and recreation areas into community design.
Page content derived from:
Minnesota Department of Health: www.health.state.mn.us/ommh/committees/ommhadvcomm/policypres0110.pdf
Cook County Public Health Department: Communities Putting Prevention To Work. www.cookcountypublichealth.org/files/CPPW/PSE%20Change.pdf
