CASE STUDY METHODS

Using a systematic three-step deductive content analysis process, we examined 26 case studies representing leading causes of death in the US (e.g., heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc.) as well as pressing public health issues such as COVID-19, alcohol use disorder, structural racism, or intimate partner violence and gun violence. Each case study was analyzed through the framework of the Health Capability Profile and developed into a flow diagram, through which we identified and quantified gaps (shortfalls) between the observed and optimal levels of development for each health capability, as well as detrimental or enabling interactions among health capabilities. We then listed and prioritized factors and interventions that could help improve overall health capability.  

There are several advantages to using the Health Capability Profile for understanding, explaining, and promoting health. First, it recognizes the uniqueness of each person’s lived experience through nuanced and individualized profiles by integrating both objective and subjective quantitative and qualitative data. Second, by accounting for the external institutions and communities in which individuals and their health are embedded, the Health Capability Profile views humans as part of collectives. Third, by using a mixed-methods framework for data analysis and integration (e.g., flow diagrams) which captures the richness, dynamism, and complexity of our ability to be healthy, the Health Capability Profile enables researchers and practitioners to assess strengths and vulnerabilities in individual profiles, as well as beneficial or detrimental interactions among health capabilities. Lastly, by centering health agency, the Health Capability Profile illuminates actionable steps for individuals and communities to achieve optimal health capability. 

The HCP therefore urges crosscutting policy and programmatic changes calling on institutions, schools, and communities to develop positive sets of norms, knowledge, goals, attitudes, and habits to focus on health and wellbeing—and importantly, illuminates the concrete steps needed to achieve these goals.