top of page
Search

It's National Public Health Week

  • Pauline Hoffmann
  • Apr 10
  • 8 min read


At least I think it is.


Public health is under attack, but if the American Public Health Association (APHA) (it still exists – I am a member) is celebrating and educating, I can do the same. Each year to celebrate Public Health Week, the APHA provides information about a variety of topics related to public health. Generally, there is also an overall theme and often daily themes stemming from it. This year, the theme is Health Equity Starts Here.


Instead of daily themes, however, this year there are five priority areas:

·       Your health is our mission

·       Building resilience for health

·       Optimizing health for all

·       Amplifying voices for public health

·       Strengthening the public health workforce


Before I discuss what is included in each priority area, let me define public health and share examples of public health in action.


I would venture to guess that most people don’t really know what public health is or what it has done and continues to do in the community. In some ways, public health is a victim of its own success. Many take its major successes for granted which allow some to discredit or downplay them.


According to the APHA, “public health promotes and protects the health of all people and their communities.” It follows, then, that the five priority areas noted above make perfect sense.


There are many public health successes. Getting through Covid-19 – with all its bumps and bruises – is just one example.


Seatbelts – Seatbelt use is considered one of the top public health success stories credited with saving thousands of lives each year (per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). That doesn’t mean it wasn’t without controversy. When seatbelts were first mandated in cars in the U.S. in 1968 (and legally required to be used starting in the 1980s), there was outcry as there always seems to be when a new rule, regulation, technology, etc. is introduced and/or mandated. It was seen as overstepping people’s personal freedoms among other criticisms.


Vaccines (yes, vaccines) – Vaccines have saved countless lives globally and continue to do so. The prevalence of vaccine-preventable diseases has decreased worldwide. To be clear, vaccines are not new. They’ve been around for two centuries or more. The smallpox vaccine is probably most noted because it eradicated the disease. Other vaccine-preventable illnesses that have nearly gone the way of the dodo or have been largely tamped are polio, measles, tetanus, rubella, and diphtheria to name a few. Do vaccines have side-effects? They can. Any side effects are mild compared to the disease they are designed to tackle. Having seen the ravages of some of these diseases firsthand, I have no interest in contracting one. Vaccines are key in that.


Fluoridated water – Community water authorities started adding fluoride to community water supplies in 1945. Since that time, according to the CDC, water fluoridation has improved oral health, including preventing cavities, which saves people their health and money.


[A caveat: a recent meta study concluded that increased levels of fluoride in water causes the IQ of children to drop. The clickbait headlines “explaining” this meta study did a huge disservice to public health. The meta study was flawed. It did not present evidence from any water supplied in the U.S. The fluoride levels studied may be naturally occurring in some areas of the world, but not anywhere we are aware of in the U.S. The amount of fluoride in community water systems in the U.S. combined with fluoride you would find in your toothpaste is not enough to pose a threat. And what is the threat? The study noted a decrease in IQ of a few points at best. That does not an idiot make.]


Sadly, this study as well as unfounded rhetoric from the director of HHS has led to communities questioning whether they should continue to fluoridate water or not. In fact Utah just passed legislation to remove fluoride from its drinking water. Utah should take a look at what happened (and continues) in Buffalo, NY when it removed fluoride from its drinking water. A link to the report from Spectrum News may be viewed here.


Safer workplaces – Remember when people would go to work and not return home? Neither do I. That’s because public health ushered in safe workplace regulations including the formation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Workplace safety is paramount. Public health says, “you’re welcome.”


Tobacco control – Tobacco products cause cancer and other diseases and illnesses. With increased public education and communication, smoking rates have decreased as has the incidence of lung cancer. Even with these advances, lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths globally. This is a great example of public health at work in our education system. Public health educators regularly teach health-related classes in primary through secondary school.


Childhood lead poisoning prevention – I have written in other outlets about this topic and the work that is being done. To see more, please take a look at the blog post/policy piece I wrote as part of my Richard P. Nathan Public Policy Fellowship through the Rockefeller Institute of Government. Lead is still a problem and is present in more than just paint chips or dust. Recently, lead has been detected in some spices, particularly cinnamon. That cinnamon has found its way into some baby food products like cinnamon apple sauces. Public health officials are quick to sound the alarm and ensure the public is aware of any product recalls.


Those are a few national public health successes but there are so many more. If you want to consider public health’s impact globally, you may add malaria prevention and control, access to safe water, tuberculosis prevention, to name just a few to the above.


All of these are examples of public health successes. All of them faced backlash when first proposed or introduced and some still do. These successes can just as easily be torn asunder. Why? As I stated earlier, we did so well, and these achievements are so profound that we’ve taken them for granted.


That’s where continued education, awareness, communication, partnership development, and legislation come into play. Now let’s discuss the APHA priority areas.


·       Your health is our mission

·       Building resilience for health

·       Optimizing health for all

·       Amplifying voices for public health

·       Strengthening the public health workforce


Your health is our mission

What does this mean? Americans are living longer than ever and that is largely due to the success of public health. Health is more than just how we feel physically and mentally. The social determinants of health (SDOH) - the non-health factors that impact and affect your health like education, the economy, access to care, access to healthy food, proximity to parks and other areas for exercise, laws and policies, and community stability - all have an impact on how well we maintain our physical and mental health.


Building resilience for health

The health of our climate also has an impact on our physical and mental health. Having access to clean outdoor spaces helps but it’s more than that. Are you prepared for changes to the climate in your area? We are seeing an increase in weather-related catastrophes that are impacting our health. Do you know what you need in order to stay safe?


I live in Western New York. Our climate dangers generally include blizzards, flooding, wind, and the occasional tornado. I keep a snow brush in my car all year (probably overkill, but you never know). I also make sure we have a working generator. Those are just two examples. What do you do to stay prepared and safe?


Optimizing health for all

We are not all the same nor should we be treated as such. We don’t even all present in the same way for a number of illnesses and diseases. Heart attacks are a perfect example. Men and women present differently and often have different symptoms.


We also don’t have the same access to care, to healthy, active outdoor spaces, to medical care, to dental and eye care, to education, to economic prosperity. Those inequities have an impact on our physical and mental health. To suggest otherwise is naïve and foolish – and harmful.


Amplifying voices for public health

Our communities keep us strong. The ties we forge with community groups, neighbors, and other partners are key to physical and mental health.


In many ways, you have to act as your own and your family’s health advocate. Do you have the tools you need to maneuver through the health care system? Do you have health literacy or do you have someone you can trust? Sadly, trust in science and health experts is decreasing largely due to false rhetoric but also due to trust issues and personal and/or cultural trauma, to name just a few. Scientists and health care practitioners are highly educated individuals who are dedicated to doing no harm, despite what you may have seen and heard.


Additionally, do you know that voting can help get what you need to thrive? It can amplify your voice and the voices of your community.


Strengthening the public health workforce

Working in public health is a calling. People are committed to doing what it takes to maintain healthy and safe environments for all. Joining their ranks may be the best decision you make. Encouraging the next generation to step up and do so is key.


This last priority area is rather ironic given what is going on in the U.S. right now. According to reports coming from Health and Human Services (HHS), at least 10,000 jobs in this department are to be cut. That includes career scientists in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Per the HHS Website Fact Sheet:


  • The current 82,000 full-time employees will be reduced to 62,000. [I guess that is "at least 10,000" but....]

  • 28 divisions will be consolidated to 15.

  • 10 regional offices will become 5.

  • Human Resources, Information Technology, Procurement, External Affairs, and Policy will be centralized.


To see the full press release, please click here.


On a personal note, I am a New York State Public Health Corps Fellow. I am one of several hundred people working in public health, primarily in health departments, across New York State to ensure we are able to provide the best public health services to our communities and prepare ourselves for the next pandemic (we are kidding ourselves if we think Covid-19 was the last one). Most of the fellows are young people who are just getting started in their careers. They come with incredible insights, a grasp of news technologies, and a zest to learn and contribute. I’m a more seasoned fellow but I suppose you could say I’m zesty.

I was notified last week that the program has had its federal funding pulled. I have until May 30, 2025 to finish my work (I was supposed to have the job until July 2026).


What strikes me is the swiftness of this reorganization. I want to be clear – I am 100% in favor of efficiency. I absolutely think we can save money and make things run more smoothly and effectively. That isn’t something you decide overnight or on a whim or by tossing a coin in the air.


The number of people to be cut alone, strikes me as a game. Does DOGE have a wheel in an office somewhere that they spin and decide? OK, RFK, Jr., spin the wheel. The wheel landed on 10,000! That’s your number! Cut at least that many people!


 

The above is disturbing news but please don’t let it deter you. Public health is more important than ever, especially when it’s under attack.


It could be argued that much of the rhetoric we are seeing and hearing related to public health and its successes, particularly vaccines and fluoridated drinking water, is based on disinformation and misinformation. I have written about this topic and will continue to do so.


For more information about dis/misinformation, may I suggest you purchase my book, Fake News, Witch Hunts & Conspiracy Theories: an Infodemiologist’s Guide to the Truth wherever you buy books. Continue to follow me here, on Substack, and the usual social media outlets (see my website for the links). As always, I value comments.


 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page