The War On Poverty’s Health Legacy: What It Was And Why It Matters

Abstract

The movement to promote a culture of health bears many similarities to another large-scale and ambitious effort from more than fifty years ago: President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty. Long a target of critics of all ideological persuasions, the War on Poverty, through its heritage, offers an instructive precedent for champions of the culture of health movement. This essay examines two regional-level War on Poverty health endeavors, one each in New York City and Los Angeles. They show the influence the War on Poverty had on the ground in widening the health care safety net, implementing holistic models of care, and facilitating community involvement in the leadership of larger health care institutions.