California Department of Public Health的动态

For day two of National Public Health Week, I want to speak to today’s theme: Healthy Neighborhoods! As a military kid, growing up across the United States afforded me the opportunity to experience a wide range of neighborhoods and cultures. Even within the States, there are so many different ways in which people exist within their neighborhoods, depending on state, city, and even zip code. My experiences as a young girl spending summers in rural South Georgia were very different from my experiences as a teenager in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and Ewa Beach, Hawaii. I may not have been able to make the socioeconomic connections back then, but now, I’m able to look back with a more critical lens and observe how those different environments contributed to the health outcomes of those around me. Over time, I learned that access to safe sidewalks, clean air and water, grocery stores within walking distance and/or in close proximity to public transit, and other aspects of a healthy neighborhood are crucial to promoting health equity. Unfortunately, many neighborhoods across the country do not have some of these basic necessities, and the detrimental effects on health outcomes are often felt by the very citizens that contribute economically and socially to those very communities — https://lnkd.in/ef374Wya Let me know in the comments — where do you call home? Do you feel that the components of your neighborhood promote overall wellness, or do you think there’s room for improvement?

In public health we often seem to want to direct people down the ONE PATH that we have decided they should use to get to the ONE DESTINATION that we have decided they should get to. But we humans are funny. We generally don't care what path other people want us to take or where they want us to end up, unless it just happens to align with where we are coming from, where we want to go, and how we want to get there. So. As public health professionals do we spend our time trying to cajole and coerce and even shame people down our one chosen path to our one chosen destination? Or do we acknowledge the multitude of paths and destinations that people choose for themselves and pave the way for them to do that more easily?

How might 2024 predictions and resolutions about healthcare be more useful? After all, over-complexity + political apathy are two entrenched challenges keeping American lives from lengthening once again. Internally, might we all resolve to consider where we’re complicit - from neglect, ignorance, bias, our own initiative/innovation, and/or money - rather than pandering ‘acceptance of only that which we can control’? I know we can do more useful things than saying “X is the next big thing” (heard it before). Or “if only we all did Y together” (I’ve more expert consensus papers and collaboratives than I can follow). Or “gratitude/mindfulness/positivity will heal all” (it sounds naive about systems so broken by design). All are nice and important mind you, to inspire the difficult, ongoing, heroic work of helping people heal and collaborating. And they don’t move the dial enough IMHO. Not by a long shot. Political factions aside, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Dr. Ashwin Vasan and team at the NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & MENTAL are right. This is fundamentally about money. US healthcare, including government, spends far less than peer countries on preventive medicine and social welfare generally. We’re too busy obsessing over the latest medical breakthrough (eg Ozempic adoption vs. intermittent fasting). Too busy looking at short-term gains whether from cost savings, rebrands, or M&A for payers, or votes and lobbyist funding for politicians. Too busy fighting over culture wars largely driven by care-less, scary-rich, social media tycoons. It’s true - “Breakthroughs in tech, medicine and nutrition have been overwhelmed by poverty, racism, distrust of the medical system, fracturing of social networks, unhealthy diets built around highly processed food,” and I’d add sedentary lifestyles created by remote work. We have crises of loneliness, opioid addiction, homelessness, youth mental health, healthcare-driven bankruptcy, workforce attrition, chronic illness mortality, etc etc, that can all be attributed to underfunded, fragmented systems based on greed over doing the right thing. All are related - don’t let this piece confuse you. Let’s then resolve to tell the truth in 2024: our system isn’t broken. It’s designed this way for the wealthy, for payer stockholders, for politicians. For so many who are not those who need it to work most. Maybe 2024 can be about honesty; at least more of us saying so. And in doing so we will act, tackling real problems like health inequity as California’s Medicaid transformation efforts under Governor Newsom do or as Sec. Becerra has been pursuing behavioral health parity enforcement. That’s a 2024 for healthcare I really look forward to.

The successful implementation of such ambitious programs requires overcoming substantial logistical, financial, and cultural hurdles, not to mention the need for a paradigm shift in how oral health is perceived within the broader context of public health and education. This necessitates a collaborative effort beyond health systems, underscoring the role of education in fostering lifelong healthy habits. #GlobalHealth #OralHealth #Education #Educationsystem #Schoolhealth

National Public Health Week (NPHW) is a time to recognize the invaluable contributions of public health professionals and the importance of collective action in creating healthier communities. This week, NPHW highlights the critical role that public health plays in promoting wellness and preventing disease. This year's theme, "Building Bridges to Better Health," emphasizes the need for collaboration across sectors to address the diverse health challenges facing our society. Whether it's tackling disparities in access to healthcare, advocating for policies that promote healthy environments, or promoting mental health awareness, NPHW encourages us to work together towards a common goal of improving health outcomes for all. As we celebrate National Public Health Week, let's renew our commitment to building healthier communities. Together, through collaboration and advocacy, we can create a brighter and healthier future for generations to come. #NPHW?#PublicHealth?#BuildingBridges?#HealthEquity?#CommunityWellness

During each day of National Public Health Week, we focus on a particular public health topic. Today's theme is "Healthy Neighborhoods." https://lnkd.in/gbx-Wuyq

With an estimated 16% of Marylanders over the age of 65—almost 1 million people—more older adults and their families are beginning to plan for senior care. This can be a difficult conversation to have, especially when a person feels they’re facing a great personal transition. However, there are numerous positives to residential senior living. With the right senior community, the best may very well yet be to come! Let’s take a look at some of the numerous mental, social, and physical health benefits that come with independent living and assisted living. Knowing these advantages can help make the decision to begin your search for senior care in Baltimore an easier one! Learn more below: https://loom.ly/Fa1bNcY

From Robert Wood Johnson Foundation- How Reparations Could Improve Black Health and?Wellbeing: A leading public health expert describes how reparations can close the life expectancy gap for Black people in America Closing the wealth gap WILL help to close health gaps. #racialwealthgap #economicjustice #socialdeterminantsofhealth #healthjustice https://lnkd.in/eYGnmzme

National Public Health Week (NPHW) is a time to recognize the invaluable contributions of public health professionals and the importance of collective action in creating healthier communities. This week, NPHW highlights the critical role that public health plays in promoting wellness and preventing disease. This year's theme, "Building Bridges to Better Health," emphasizes the need for collaboration across sectors to address the diverse health challenges facing our society. Whether it's tackling disparities in access to healthcare, advocating for policies that promote healthy environments, or promoting mental health awareness, NPHW encourages us to work together towards a common goal of improving health outcomes for all. As we celebrate National Public Health Week, let's renew our commitment to building healthier communities. Together, through collaboration and advocacy, we can create a brighter and healthier future for generations to come. #NPHW #PublicHealth #BuildingBridges #HealthEquity #CommunityWellness