Dr. Bauer said policies could do better at using carrots and sticks, including taxes and subsidies, in these cases: “There are more incentives and opportunities for people to consume unhealthy foods and beverages than there are for them to make healthy food and beverage choices.”

‘Deep divides of race and income’

Another theme that emerged was that we could do a lot more in addressing disparities across race and class.

“Public health needs to take a leadership role in confronting and influencing the social, political and economic factors that determine population health,” said Sandro Galea, the Robert A. Knox professor and dean of Boston University’s School of Public Health.

“The patterns of disease and death track along this nation’s deep divides of race and income,” said Mary Travis Bassett, the former New York City health commissioner, who recently took a position at Harvard. She said America needed to divest in prisons and “put that funding toward new systems of justice, better housing or universal child care.”

The opioid crisis is one of America’s most urgent problems. Rhode Island has shown promise in being able to reduce overdose deaths by offering prisoners medications to treat addiction while they’re incarcerated and after they’re released.

Other initiatives can be tailored to meet the needs of various populations. Older and low-income residents of Boston have benefited from the receipt of specially formulated meals — such as those with soft food or with low cholesterol. According to a study in Health Affairs, those receiving such meals had fewer hospital admissions than those who didn’t.

For others, housing assistance may be the most direct way to improve health. That’s why the Boston Medical Center — the city’s principal hospital for low-income and underinsured residents — is investing in affordable housing and referring patients to community housing programs.