Exploring Community Health in the 2020s: Updates to the County Health Rankings Model, Methods, and Tools

The 2025 Model of Health represents a major evolution from the previous model by naming structural determinants as core drivers of health and well-being. This shift clarifies that community conditions, which enable behaviors and shape outcomes, are created by societal rules and how people who wield power set and maintain them. New methods mean counties can now find and work with peers across borders to improve health in their communities. While limitations remain, the inclusion of structural determinants opens new opportunities for more expansive, relevant, and transformative population health metrics.