Fact Sheet

The following fact sheet is intended to help you convey key messages about the contributions of public health to media, community leaders, and other audiences. We hope it will help them better understand how your campaign, public health research and programs positively impact the world we live in.

THIS IS PUBLIC HEALTH.

Think what you eat and how much you exercise is enough to keep you healthy? Or, do you think you just have “good genes” and that will keep you healthy? Think again.

The “This Is Public Health” campaign illustrates the many ways in which public health touches us all every day and reminds us that where and how we live, work and play has a lot to do with how healthy each and every one of us really is. Public health works to improve the conditions around us and promote healthy behaviors. This campaign helps us educate each other on the vital role public health plays in all of our lives. 

Consider that:  

• Approximately 80 – 90% of all cancers may be caused by environmental and lifestyle triggers¹ , as opposed to genetics. While many of these triggers are currently unknown they are being investigated by public health researchers and some of them, such as asbestos, are being eliminated as a result of public health initiatives.
• Eating out at lunch probably isn't a perk you attribute to public health. But, an unsafe food supply, such as the E. coli outbreak of bagged spinach, can affect the health of anyone, anywhere. Public health officials worked quickly to contain the E.coli outbreak in August 2007 across 26 states, limiting the number of those affected to under 200.²
• According to the Department of Health and Human Services, secondhand smoke causes approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths annually.³ But, thanks to public health efforts that linked secondhand smoke to cancer and advocated for smoke-free zones, steps are being taken to save lives. For example, following New York state's smoke-free law, employees of restaurants and bars saw a 78% decrease in their cotinine levels (a measure of their secondhand smoke exposure).⁴
• The true dangers of an innocent donut became much more apparent thanks to public health. Trans fats are a major contributor to coronary heart disease – the number one cause of death in America . However, public health efforts to discourage the use of trans fat in restaurants and decrease other heart disease risk factors have contributed to a 60% decrease in the death rates from the disease since 1950.⁵
• Driving to work in the morning would be a lot more dangerous without public health efforts to promote motor vehicle safety standards like airbags and to change personal behavior to encourage seat belt use. Since being required by law 31 years ago, seat belts have saved over 135,000 lives and prevented over 3.8 million injuries.⁶
• Old age used to mean being a senior citizen by age 40 , but public health has changed that. Improvements in water, sanitation and nutrition have been largely responsible for increasing life expectancy in the US from 47 years in 1900 to 78.2 years in 2007.⁷ That's an increase of over 66% that resulted from efforts to improve health conditions and behaviors.⁸
• The flu is also a public health issue. In the United States , influenza causes an annual average of 36,000 deaths, ranking it 7th among all causes of death.⁹ Public health laboratory technicians, researchers and administrators work together each year to prevent flu disease and death.
• The percentage of overweight children has soared to epidemic proportions in the past 20 years, with approximately 18% of children affected.¹⁰ Public health officials often promote two ways for children to improve their physical health: consistent exercise and proper diet. Ensuring a safe and fun environment in which children can play is a big step toward keeping our children healthy. When considering diet, public health officials work to influence school lunch menus and vending machine options available to school children.
• The mosquitoes in your back yard could be deadly if they carried West Nile Encephalitis – an inflammation of the brain caused by viruses transmitted through mosquito bites. In order to prevent outbreaks, public health professionals are tracking areas where mosquitoes carry the virus and work with local Health Departments to eradicate larvae in those areas.
• Infectious diseases spread irrespective of national borders, meaning everyone is susceptible to them. Public health has already halted the spread of many diseases, so that most Americans don't have to worry about typhoid and cholera, and continues to guard against new threats such as bird flu.

These are just a handful of examples that demonstrate how public health battles range from containing deadly contagious diseases to pushing for healthier lifestyles, from reducing incidences of preventable diseases to minimizing the consequences of catastrophic events, from providing the basics of sanitation to safe food and water.

The ‘This is Public Health' campaign highlights the many ways in which public health initiatives create a healthier environment for you to live in so that you and your friends and family can lead healthier, longer lives. To learn more about the campaign please visit www.whatispublichealth.org.