Never Before in History Has Innovation Offered Promise of so Much to so Many in so Short a Time. - Bill Gates

Innovation comes from the Latin terms innovare, to "renew" or "alter" and novus, meaning "new." Dictionary definitions include acts of introducing something new. Innovation occurs when someone uses ideas to change how the world works, how people organize themselves, or how they conduct their lives. The goal of innovation is positive change, to make someone or something better. Innovation involves more than the generation of a creative idea or insight-those ideas and insights must be put into action to make a real difference, resulting in a new way of providing healthcare and making a positive difference in the public's health. Innovation brings ideas to life, and the authors of these articles provide extraordinary examples of such efforts. The healthcare system is not working for all; innovations provide opportunities for the system to be changed for the better.

Healthcare in the United States and throughout the world has experienced rapid and unprecedented change. People simultaneously face wave after wave of new technologies; models of service delivery; increasingly specialized healthcare providers; complicated, uncoordinated care; and a critical lack of funding for healthcare services. Healthcare continues to shift from acute inpatient hospitals to community. Patterns of disease and illness range from emerging new and old infectious diseases that require episodic care to chronic conditions that require ongoing care. Public health continues to face epidemics of infectious diseases and those of obesity, mental illness, substance abuse, and other lifestyle health risks. Bioterrorism and disasters are now urgent concerns of the public. Those of us in the healthcare field often express concern about the speed at which these changes and health threats occur, further adding to the problems of a complicated, inefficient, and inequitable healthcare system. There are additional concerns that our present healthcare systems, both in the United States and abroad, have been unable to keep pace with scientific and technological advances. If we are unable to deliver appropriate quality and prevention-based care today, how will we do so with this unprecedented change to meet the future needs of our populations?

The articles in this issue, Innovations in Family and Community Health, truly represents the best in innovative thinking and practice in efforts to improve a community's health, ranging from creative programs for the homeless, military families, immigrant parents, families of overweight children and health promotion in the family and grandparents, novel ways of assessing populations through photographs, and new approaches in reducing environmental risks for children with disabilities.

Herbie Hancock provides us with the need for innovation to create our desired future: "I agree with taking the time and respecting the great innovators of the past, but the word innovation would cease to exist if we all do is look at the past."

Karen Saucier Lundy, PhD, RN, FAAN

Professor, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS