“Public health saved your life today, you just didn’t know it.
- Dr. Karen DeSalvo
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As April 2023 comes to a close, SLM Consulting is excited to relaunch Public Health Beat after a long hiatus. Since then, the world has been and continues to be impacted by a global pandemic, shifting ideologies, and disproportionate health inequities. These issues have transcended into the public health system, albeit workforce burnout, weakened infrastructure, or changing public health authority. While the effects are still being understood, there is a need and opportunity to transform public health. Perhaps one of the key strategies to advance this transformation is centering community…community voice, perspective, and experiences…to help shape public health practice, policy, and research to ensure every person has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health. Strategies such as elevating principles of community engagement, adopting the community health strategist model, and cross-sector partnerships are some key recommendations to center community.
Additional opportunities to transform public health are taking place at all levels, such as data modernization (e.g., timely local-level data, data sharing, access to surveillance data), innovative and flexible funding, building leadership capacity and competency among the public health workforce, and prioritization of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility among the public health workforce. What these global events have highlighted now more than ever is the need to center health equity to guide practice, policy, and research. To effectively move the needle…not only upstream, but in the long term…requires “removing obstacles to health such as poverty and discrimination and their consequences, including powerlessness and lack of access to good jobs with fair pay, quality education and housing, safe environments, and health care” (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2017). Models and frameworks such as Public Health 3.0, Mobilizing for action through Planning and Partnerships 2.0, or the Conceptual Model to Advance Health Equity through Transformed Systems for Health are just some types of resources that can be used to help transform the public health system. As public health practice, policy, and research evolve to meet the changing needs of the public health landscape, so can the public health system. After all, despite bumps in the road, I believe the reality is still true, “public health saved your life today, you just didn’t know it” – Dr. Karen DeSalvo.
SLM Consulting looks forward to continuing our journey and mission to work collaboratively, informed by data and focused on advancing health equity. We know there is a lot of work to do but are hopeful about the opportunities that lie ahead to ensure public health. We hope you can join us here!