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DPH outlines 'True North' performance framework, highlights HIV progress and youth vaping challenge
Summary
Dr. Tomas Aragon presented a Population Health 'true north' framework focusing on results‑based accountability and highlighted HIV outcomes (94% aware, 91% linked, 78% virally suppressed) and a youth vaping surge (about 20% among grades 10–12) that the department is addressing through local ordinances and enforcement.
Dr. Tomas Aragon, health officer and director of the Population Health Division, presented a balanced 'True North' framework the department will use to prioritize work and measure impact. He emphasized three questions for oversight — how much did we do, how well did we do it, and is anybody better off — and said the division will return with detailed targets and dashboards.
Aragon highlighted San Francisco’s long‑running HIV work and recent gains: department figures presented at the meeting reported that 94% of people living with HIV are aware of their status, 91% have been linked to care, retention is at 64% and viral suppression at about 78%. He noted overall diagnoses have decreased and the city recently recorded under 200 new HIV infections for the first time.
On tobacco and e‑cigarettes, Aragon said the department has advanced eight local laws since 2006 — including restrictions on flavored tobacco and menthol and rules treating e‑cigarettes like cigarettes — and carried out retailer outreach and inspections. He reported that inspections of 693 tobacco retailers following the flavor ban showed over 92% compliance. Aragon also warned of a youth vaping surge: he said San Francisco’s prevalence among tenth‑ and twelfth‑grade students reached about 20%.
Aragon connected policy and implementation: the department co‑authored scientific commentary supporting strong local restrictions, and said local measures helped limit vaping‑associated lung injury at the city level compared with larger outbreaks elsewhere. Commissioners asked for more specific 'X to Y' targets and operational plans for priorities such as reducing youth vaping; Aragon said detailed metrics and implementation steps would be provided in subsequent committee or commission briefings and in public health committee sessions.
The presentation framed future oversight around the three accountability questions and committed to returning with more granular measures and timelines.
