
Shannon
Baker-Branstetter
Senior Director, Domestic Climate and Energy Policy
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.
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.
Significant and sustained investments in public health would improve societal health, advance equity, and foster economic and climate resiliency.
Investments in public health not only improve the health of society but also advance equity and foster economic and climate resiliency.
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.
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.
A variety of analytic tools can clarify public health priorities and predict the health impact of policy solutions.
Jill Rosenthal discusses the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
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.
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.