Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity-not a threat[horizontal ellipsis]. - Kapil Sibal1
The health industry has long relied on innovation to advance care. Innovation by its very definition denotes some change of significance or grandeur, and in the context of healthcare, innovations are those ideas that significantly and dramatically alter the way we address health-related problems. Without innovation, and more specifically innovative people and programs, healthcare would simply languish in tradition and many of the advances we enjoy today would still be unrealized. Although innovation typically denotes efficiency and productivity, innovation can also carry with it costs unseen beyond the immediate organizations and individuals who benefit from an innovation. For what improves one area of healthcare may create unfathomed strain on another. Thus, lasting innovations are those that take full measure of systems and interconnectedness. Without this foresight, perspective, and beneficence, what at first appears to be innovation is nothing more than simple change.
The greatest hallmark of innovation is risk, and with risk comes the threat of failure. It is in this space that many dare not venture. Thomas Edison once said of his many trials perfecting the light bulb, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."2 Innovation, then, is not simply a good idea; it is a good idea coupled with resilience. For healthcare, there are additional risks with any innovation given the high stakes; however, innovation partnered with a strong ethical framework allows us to move forward in ways that strengthen the social and moral contract between healthcare and the public. Thus, fears and risks should not limit our aims toward innovation but should instead provide a framework by which innovation may be guided toward the greater public good.
In a world of burgeoning populations and diminishing resources, innovation will demand that we do more with less; a prospect made even more complicated in healthcare due to rising costs and staffing shortages. Moreover, in a world of increasing globalization, it is imperative that innovations be aimed at addressing healthcare from a global perspective; what impacts one region or nation certainly impacts us all. In addition, as technology continues its speedy advance, healthcare must also keep stride.
This issue of Family and Community Health (31:4) explores innovation in healthcare and health promotion for diverse clientele. Among the informative pieces within this issue, authors address topics such as prevention of primary and secondary disabilities through environmental health awareness, the experience of family child care providers serving low-income children, and parental involvement in the treatment of pediatric overweight. What these and the other authors illustrate is that the provision of care and the delivery of health services requires not only its own special brand of ingenuity but also shifts in which we consider the healthcare providers and partners in that care. I think you will find this issue informative and insightful.
Jeanette Lancaster
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