Public Health Is Where You Are

National Public Health Week brings together communities across the United States to recognize the contributions of public health and highlight issues that are important to improving the health of our nation. A series of activities, events and conversations will engage different people and organizations to promote the importance of public health.

Monday — Racism: A Public Health Crisis Long-standing inequities in health care, income, housing, education, and many other factors that influence health and well-being have widened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Racism shapes where and how people live and what resources and opportunities they have. Racism directly affects the physical and mental health of people of color. By naming and addressing racism and advancing racial equity, we can also address other areas of marginalization, including ability, gender, sexual orientation, and age.

Tuesday — Public Health Workforce: Essential to our Future The strain of the COVID-19 pandemic and its politicization weakened public health, which was already facing a worker deficit. Funding a robust public health workforce supports strong programs to protect communities and help people get and stay healthy physically and mentally. The public health workforce is essential to addressing the health challenges of our present and future.

Wednesday — Community: Collaboration and Resilience Over the course of the last two years, people across the world have experienced social isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To make an impact on public health in your community, you can join a community garden, donate healthy and culturally appropriate canned food options to food pantries or volunteer at local food distributions. Collaborative, community-led, multi-sector approaches to changing policies and systems can address the conditions that hold disparities in place and create more community resilience.

Thursday —World Health Day: Health is a Human Right At least half of the world’s population can’t access basic health services such as seeing a doctor, getting vaccinated or even receiving emergency care. Human rights are closely tied to how diseases spread and impact communities.  To ensure good health is a reality for everyone, we must call on all countries to protect human rights as part of their health policies and systems.

Friday —Accessibility: Closing the Health Equity Gap In 2020, 28 million people in the U.S. lacked any type of health insurance. We can work together to improve the health of people living with disabilities and other marginalized groups by reducing health disparities in health insurance, increasing physical accessibility to care, increasing availability of appropriate care, building more inclusive public health programs and promoting healthy living. Expanding public health training to include cultural   and disability competence is one way to affect the availability and quality of care people receive.

Saturday — Climate Change: Taking Action for Equity Climate change poses one of the most significant public health threats today by creating a series of interconnected impacts on human health. To address social inequities and improve our health, we need to strengthen partnerships with communities most impacted by climate change, support community-directed solutions and improve access to health care. Public health leaders must work with communities to ensure the best science and policies that address climate injustice are in every conversation about climate change solutions.

Sunday —Mental Wellness: Redefining the Meaning of Health Each year, one in five Americans will experience mental illness. Fifty percent of mental illness starts by the age of 14. Ask Congress to make mental health services readily available during the current and future public health emergencies. Public health can incorporate mental and emotional health development and promotion into prevention strategies and activities.