Public health helps prevent disease and improve the health of communities—primarily through efforts outside of traditional medical care, such as tracking and predicting emerging and persistent threats, responding to health risks and events, and promoting health through education and policymaking. Public health organizations promote cleaner air and water, better sanitation, food safety, safer environments with less violence and injury, disease prevention, and access to vaccines, among other priorities.
The Center for American Progress advocates and supports efforts to strengthen the public health system’s basic infrastructure to accomplish these essential functions.
While monkeypox is less contagious than COVID-19 and largely preventable through vaccination, the outbreak has highlighted that the U.S. public health system remains underprepared for crises.
A Strong Start in Life: How Public Health Policies Affect the Well-Being of Pregnancies and Families
Understanding how the key social determinants of health—including housing, employment, and education—affect perinatal health is critical to ensuring that federal policies support healthy babies and families.
Public health plays a key role in keeping us all safe and healthy. This video shows how public health works and calls for investment in the nation’s public health system.
The Title 42 Expulsion Policy Does Nothing To Prevent the Spread of COVID-19
Issued as a public health measure, there is no statistical evidence that border expulsions under Title 42 result in a lower COVID-19 case rate in the United States.
COUNTERPOINT: Masks remain an essential tool to protect against COVID
Mia Ives-Rublee argues that masks remain a critical preventive measure to avoid future COVID-19 surges and protect those at higher risk of severe illness.
Social and Economic Policies Can Help Reverse Americans’ Declining Health
To meaningfully improve the health of Americans, new policies must target all of the drivers of health, including education, economic stability, neighborhoods and environments, social and community well-being, and historic inequities.
Build Back Better by Advancing Better Health, Equity, Family Well-Being, and Economic Recovery
By addressing key priorities, the budget reconciliation process can advance health and economic recovery and deliver benefits to the individuals, neighborhoods, and communities that need them the most.
