Jo Ivey Elizabeth Boufford
Jo Ivey Elizabeth Boufford
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Director of the Doctor of Public Health Program
Clinical Professor of Global and Environmental Health
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Professional overview
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Jo Ivey Boufford, M.D., is Clinical Professor of Global Health at the New York University School of Global Public Health and Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at New York University School of Medicine. She is President Emeritus of The New York Academy of Medicine and Immediate Past President of the International Society for Urban Health (2017-9). She served as Dean of the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University from June 1997 to November 2002. Prior to that, she served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from November 1993 to January 1997, and as Acting Assistant Secretary from January 1997 to May 1997. While at HHS, she was the U.S. representative on the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO) from 1994–1997. She served in a variety of senior positions in and as President of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), the largest municipal system in the United States, from December 1985 until October 1989. In NYC, she currently serves on the Board of the United Hospital Fund, is Vice Chair of the NYS Public Health and Health Planning Council (PHHPC) and Chair of its Public Health Committee. Nationally, she is on the Boards of the National Hispanic Health Foundation and the Health Effects Institute. She was elected to membership in the US National Academy of Medicine (formerly IOM) in 1992, served on its Board on Global Health, and served two four year terms as its Foreign Secretary from 2003 to 2011, She was elected to membership of the National Academy of Public Administration in 2015. She is a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine. Dr. Boufford attended Wellesley College for two years and received her BA (Psychology) magna cum laude from the University of Michigan, and her MD, with distinction, from the University of Michigan Medical School. She is Board Certified in pediatrics.
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Education
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BA, Psychology (Magna Cum Laude), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MIMD, Medicine (with distinction), University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI
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Honors and awards
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Honorary Doctorate of Science, Toledo University, Toledo, OH (2012)Honorary Doctorate of Science, Pace University, New York, NY (2011)Top 100 Most Influential Women, Crain's New York Business (2007)Honorary Doctorate of Science, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY (2007)Honorary Doctorate of Science, State University of New York, Brooklyn, NY (1992)Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellowship, Institute of Medicine in Washington, DC (1980)
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Areas of research and study
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Aging and the Life CourseGates FoundationHealth DisparitiesHealth PromotionInternational HealthNew York City Health and Hospitals CorporationPrevention InterventionsPublic AdministrationPublic Health ManagementPublic Health PolicyPublic Health SystemsUS Department of Health and Human ServicesWorld Health Organization
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Publications
Publications
A new whole-of-city strategy for addressing cardiovascular population health
AbstractAerts, A., & Boufford, J. I. (n.d.).Publication year
2023Journal title
Cities and HealthVolume
7Issue
3Page(s)
296-302AbstractPeople in low- and middle-income countries experience heart disease at alarming rates. As urbanization accelerates, cities can drive innovative partnerships to improve prevention and management of heart disease, bringing government, business and civil society together. Through Better Hearts Better Cities, we pioneered a people-centered and multisector initiative, guided and owned by local city authorities, to address cardiovascular disease and its underlying causes within the context of rapid urbanization, reaching millions of people. Cities across the world can apply its strategy, consisting of six pillars named CARDIO, shorthand for Care, Access, policy Reform, Data and digital, Intersectoral collaboration and local Ownership.Fostering capacity building and multidisciplinary urban health research in Latin America
Sarmiento, O. L., Grant, M., Caiaffa, W. T., Lovasi, G. S., Boufford, J. I., Eijkermans, G., Indvik, K., & Baldovino-Chiquillo, L. (n.d.).Publication year
2023Journal title
Cities and HealthVolume
7Issue
1Page(s)
1-8COVID-19 reveals the systemic nature of urban health globally
AbstractGatzweiler, F., Fu, B., Rozenblat, C., Su, H. J. J., Luginaah, I., Corburn, J., Boufford, J. I., Vela Valdes, J., Nguendo-Yongsi, B., Howden-Chapman, P., Singh, R. B., Cooper, R., Oni, T., & Zhu, Y. G. (n.d.).Publication year
2021Journal title
Cities and HealthVolume
5Page(s)
S32-S36AbstractStatement by the scientific committee* of the International Science Council’s Programme on Urban Health and Wellbeing, on critical elements of urban health action in response to the epidemic.The Lancet Commission on pollution and health
Landrigan, P. J., Fuller, R., Acosta, N. J., Adeyi, O., Arnold, R., Basu, N. (Nil), Baldé, A. B., Bertollini, R., Bose-O’Reilly, S., Boufford, J. I., Breysse, P. N., Chiles, T., Mahidol, C., Coll-Seck, A. M., Cropper, M. L., Fobil, J., Fuster, V., Greenstone, M., Haines, A., … Zhong, M. (n.d.).Publication year
2018Journal title
The LancetVolume
391Issue
10119Page(s)
462-512Advancing an Age-Friendly NYC
Boufford, J. I. (n.d.).Publication year
2017Journal title
Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of MedicineVolume
94Issue
3Page(s)
317-318Systems science simulation modeling to inform urban health policy and planning
AbstractLi, Y., Boufford, J. I., & Pagán, J. A. (n.d.). In Springer Optimization and Its Applications.Publication year
2017Page(s)
151-166AbstractMore than half of the population in the world lives in cities and urban populations are still rapidly expanding. Increasing population growth in cities inevitably brings about the intensification of urban health problems. The multidimensional nature of factors associated with health together with the dynamic, interconnected environment of cities moderates the effects of policies and interventions that are designed to improve population health. With the emergence of the “Internet of Things” and the availability of “Big Data,” policymakers and practitioners are in need of a new set of analytical tools to comprehensively understand the social, behavioral, and environmental factors that shape population health in cities. Systems science, an interdisciplinary field that draws concepts, theories, and evidence from fields such as computer science, engineering, social planning, economics, psychology, and epidemiology, has shown promise in providing practical conceptual and analytical approaches that can be used to solve urban health problems. This chapter describes the level of complexity that characterizes urban health problems and provides an overview of systems science features and methods that have shown great promise to address urban health challenges. We provide two specific examples to showcase systems science thinking: one using a system dynamics model to prioritize interventions that involve multiple social determinants of health in Toronto, Canada, and the other using an agent-based model to evaluate the impact of different food policies on dietary behaviors in NewYork City. These examples suggest that systems science has the potential to foster collaboration among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers from different disciplines to evaluate interconnected data and address challenging urban health problems.Focusing on Health to Advance Sustainable Urban Transitions
Thomas, Y. F., Boufford, J. I., & Talukder, S. H. (n.d.).Publication year
2016Journal title
Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of MedicineVolume
93Issue
1Page(s)
1-5Innovating healthcare delivery to address noncommunicable diseases in low-income settings: The example of hypertension
AbstractPiot, P., Aerts, A., Wood, D. A., Lamptey, P., Oti, S., Connell, K., Dorairaj, P., Boufford, J. I., Caldwell, A., & Perel, P. (n.d.).Publication year
2016Journal title
Future CardiologyVolume
12Issue
4Page(s)
401-403AbstractLondon Dialogue event, The Hospital Club, 24 Endell St, London, WC2H 9HQ, London, UK, 1 December 2015 Hypertension is a global health issue causing almost 10 million deaths annually, with a disproportionate number occurring in low- and middle-income countries. The condition can be managed effectively, but there is a need for innovation in healthcare delivery to alleviate its burden. This paper presents a number of innovative delivery models from a number of different countries, including Kenya, Ghana, Barbados and India. These models were presented at the London Dialogue event, which was cohosted by the Novartis Foundation and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Centre for Global Noncommunicable Diseases on 1 December 2015. It is argued that these models are applicable not only to hypertension, but provide valuable lessons to address other noncommunicable diseases.The interacademy partnership’s young physician leaders: A leadership training and networking program
AbstractMcGrath, P. F., Boufford, J. I., & Kareithi, M. (n.d.).Publication year
2016Journal title
Health Systems and ReformVolume
2Issue
3Page(s)
265-271Abstract—The research, clinical, public health, and health policy areas of the health sector all need effective leaders. However, many young professionals learn their leadership skills by trial and error as they advance through their careers. Though some countries are making efforts to incorporate leadership training programs into their medical curricula, the provision of such training is available in too few countries. To fill this gap and contribute to building capacity for future leadership among health professionals worldwide, the Inter Academy Partnership for Health launched its Young Physician Leaders (YPL) program in 2011. The program provides a tailored workshop on leadership; the opportunity, via the World Health Summit, to engage with global leaders in the field of medicine and health; a matchmaking mentorship scheme; a network of peers with whom to share experiences and exchange best practices; and an interactive website to post real-time professional information and gain visibility both nationally and internationally. To date, some 107 YPL, nominated by some 30 academies of science and medicine and six other institutions, have participated in the scheme. In addition, some 30 YPL alumni from about 20 countries were selected to attend the recent World Health Assembly (WHA69). As well as gaining first-hand experience of the decision-making processes of the WHA, the event helped build their individual capacities because they had the opportunity to link with their national decision makers in global health policy. Though there is room for expansion of the program, it has been well received as an approach to supporting the leadership development of a new generation of physicians who will eventually lead clinical, educational, and research institutions and contribute to their societies and globally to improve health for all.Urban health in the post-2015 agenda
Talukder, S., Capon, A., Nath, D., Kolb, A., Jahan, S., & Boufford, J. (n.d.). In The Lancet.Publication year
2015Volume
385Issue
9970Page(s)
769The challenge of attribution: Responsibility for population health in the context of accountable care
Gourevitch, M. N., Cannell, T., Boufford, J. I., & Summers, C. (n.d.).Publication year
2012Journal title
American journal of preventive medicineVolume
42Issue
6Page(s)
S180-S183The challenge of attribution: Responsibility for population health in the context of accountable care
AbstractGourevitch, M. N., Cannell, T., Boufford, J. I., & Summers, C. (n.d.).Publication year
2012Journal title
American journal of public healthVolume
102Page(s)
S322-S324AbstractOne of the 3 goals for accountable care organizations is to improve population health. This will require that accountable care organizations bridge the schism between clinical care and public health. But do health care delivery organizations and public health agencies share a concept of " population"? We think not: whereas delivery systems define populations in terms of persons receiving care, public health agencies typically measure health on the basis of geography. This creates an attribution problem, particularly in large urban centers, where multiple health care providers often serve any given neighborhood. We suggest potential innovations that could allow urban accountable care organizations to accept accountability, and rewards, for measurably improving population health.The challenge of attribution: who is accountable for population health?
Gourevitch, M., Cannell, T., Boufford, J. I. M., & Summers, C. (n.d.).Publication year
2012Journal title
American Journal of Public HealthUrban Health: Global Perspectives
Boufford, J. I. M., Vlahov, D., Pearson, C., & Norris, L. (n.d.).Publication year
2010Fatal flows - Doctors on the move
Chen, L. C., & Boufford, J. I. (n.d.).Publication year
2005Journal title
New England Journal of MedicineVolume
353Issue
17Page(s)
1850-1852Leadership development for global health
Boufford, J. I. M. (n.d.). In Global Health Leadership and Management.Publication year
2005The future of the public's health: Vision, values, and strategies
AbstractGostin, L. O., Boufford, J. I., & Martinez, R. M. (n.d.).Publication year
2004Journal title
Health AffairsVolume
23Issue
4Page(s)
96-107AbstractThe expansive vision of modern public health, "healthy people in healthy communities," is politically charged. This paper offers a justification for this broad vision and offers concrete proposals. By pointing to the poor condition of public health agencies; urging a transition to an intersectoral public health system; promoting the adoption of bold changes in U.S. physical, social, and economic conditions; and endorsing a values shift to a commitment to collective interest in healthier communities, we hope to take a dramatic step toward achieving these aspirations for "healthy people in healthy communities." The authors are on the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Board on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (Gostin and Martinez) and Committee for Assuring the Health of the Public (Gostin and Boufford). This paper does not.Critical Issues of Public Service Education
AbstractBoufford, J. I. (n.d.).Publication year
2003Journal title
Journal of Public Affairs EducationVolume
9Issue
1Page(s)
1-5AbstractJo Ivey Boufford, president of the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration, is a professor of Health Policy and Public Service in the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service of New York University. She was dean of the Wagner School from 1997 to 2002. Boufford delivered this address at NASPAA's annual conference in October 2002.Health policymaking: the role of the federal government
Boufford, J. I. M., & Lee, P. R. (n.d.). In Ethical Dimensions of Health Policy.Publication year
2002Healthcare in a land called peoplepower: Nothing about me without me
AbstractDelbanco, T., Berwick, D. M., Boufford, J. I., Edgman-Levitan, P. A., Ollenschläger, G., Plamping, D., & Rockefeller, R. G. (n.d.).Publication year
2001Journal title
Health ExpectationsVolume
4Issue
3Page(s)
144-150AbstractIn a 5-day retreat at a Salzburg Seminar attended by 64 individuals from 29 countries, teams of health professionals, patient advocates, artists, reporters and social scientists adopted the guiding principle of 'nothing about me without me' and created the country of PeoplePower. Designed to shift health care from 'biomedicine' to 'infomedicine', patients and health workers throughout PeoplePower join in informed, shared decision-making and governance. Drawing, where possible, on computer-based guidance and communication technologies, patients and clinicians contribute actively to the patient record, transcripts of clinical encounters are shared, and patient education occurs primarily in the home, school and community-based organizations. Patients and clinicians jointly develop individual 'quality contracts', serving as building blocks for quality measurement and improvement systems that aggregate data, while reflecting unique attributes of individual patients and clinicians. Patients donate process and outcome data to national data banks that fuel epidemiological research and evidence-based improvement systems. In PeoplePower hospitals, constant patient and employee feedback informs quality improvement work teams of patients and health professionals. Volunteers work actively in all units, patient rooms are information centres that transform their shape and decor as needs and individual preferences dictate, and arts and humanities programmes nourish the spirit. In the community, from the earliest school days the citizenry works with health professionals to adopt responsible health behaviours. Communities join in selecting and educating health professionals and barter systems improve access to care. Finally, lay individuals partner with professionals on all local, regional and national governmental and private health agencies.Setting the global agenda for health
Boufford, J. I. M. (n.d.). In Global Dimensions in Domestic Health Issues.Publication year
2000Andrew Pattullo Lecture. Health future: the managerial agenda.
Boufford, J. I. (n.d.).Publication year
1999Journal title
The Journal of health administration educationVolume
17Issue
4Page(s)
271-295Crisis, leadership, consensus: The past and future federal role in health
AbstractBoufford, J. I. (n.d.).Publication year
1999Journal title
Journal of Urban HealthVolume
76Issue
2Page(s)
192-206AbstractThis paper touches on patterns of federal government involvement in the health sector since the late 18th century to the present and speculates on its role in the early decades of the 21st century. Throughout the history of the US, government involvement in the health sector came only in the face of crisis, only when there was widespread consensus, and only through sustained leadership. One of the first health-related acts of Congress came about as a matter of interstate commerce regarding the dilemma as to what to do about treating merchant seamen who had no affiliation with any state. Further federal actions were implemented to address epidemics, such as from yellow fever, that traveled from state to state through commercial ships. Each federal action was met with concern and resistance from states' rights advocates, who asserted that the health of the public was best left to the states and localities. It was not until the early part of the 20th century that a concern for social well-being, not merely commerce, drove the agenda for public health action. Two separate campaigns for national health insurance, as well as a rapid expansion of programs to serve the specific health needs of specific populations, led finally to the introduction of Medicaid and Medicare in the 1960s, the most dramatic example of government intervention in shaping the personal health care delivery system in the latter half of the 20th century. As health costs continued to rise and more and more Americans lacked adequate health insurance, a perceived crisis led President Clinton to launch his 1993 campaign to insure every American - the third attempt in this century to provide universal coverage. While the crisis was perceived by many, there was no consensus on action, and leadership outside government was missing. Today, the health care crisis still looms. Despite an economic boom, 1 million Americans lose their health insurance each year, with 41 million Americans, or 15% of the population, lacking coverage. Private premiums are going up again as federal programs are capped and the lack of a federal framework for quality assurance leads to growing problems of access and quality that will need to be addressed as we enter the 21st century. What role will government play?.New approaches to academic health center affiliations: public hospitals and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Boufford, J. I., Gage, L., Kizer, K. W., Marcos, L. R., Short, J. H., & Garrett, K. E. (n.d.).Publication year
1999Journal title
Issue brief (Commonwealth Fund)Issue
330Page(s)
1-5Marijuana-controlled substance?
Boufford, J. I., & Richard, M. M. (n.d.). In Delaware medical journal.Publication year
1997Volume
69Issue
3Page(s)
141-142