Public Health in Oregon - Join The Conversation

I think that Craig has nailed a crucial issue at a critical time, and I fully agree with all the key issues raised in this conversation.  Katie’s point is also salient and I myself have observed that U.S. constituents are often too distracted or ill-informed to fully understand and recognize all the problems which impact their livelihoods.  There’s plenty of information available, but it is well filtered and under-valued in our current media-driven culture.  However, we really can’t afford to be passive and wait for public health knowledge to become mainstreamed or embraced by a majority while we are promoting respect for health and an improved health care system. In every aspect of life people have a strong tendency to take no action until something is badly hurting, and then all efforts go towards repairing damages—rather than true growth and healing.
  Now is the time to act, otherwise we’ll be waiting for the next administration to have our opportunity.  One option is to put Hillary Clinton’s national health care plan back on the legislative table for review, and of course revision considering our nation’s current political-economic climate.  The plan was presented over 10 years ago during her husband’s administration and was largely overlooked because of all the excitement over NAFTA, and was then rapidly defeated by counter-attacks.  I think that our national consciousness is shifting towards truth and justice, and that we are demanding more support and accountability from our political leaders.  We need to harness this energy and work towards common goals which improve living conditions for everyone.
  Unfortunately, universal health coverage has gotten such a bad wrap in the media.  Public health supporters and officials could focus on replacing that stigma with short but very powerful, positive and illuminating facts and examples of relevant health care benefits enjoyed by the public in Scandinavia, Canada and East Asia for example.  It would be part of a major public education campaign to spread the word and illustrate how government intervention can truly work to improve our safety and well-being, without jeopardizing our constitutional freedoms.
  It is also important to publicly reveal that our health care costs are unnaturally inflated due to all the top level research, cutting-edge technology and highly qualified professionals that are produced from our medical industry.  It is a source of both pride and shame because our country is a great leader in invention, but the costs of those advancements are causing great suffering.  What quality does this add to our lives if we do not have access to those resources?  It is time to stop being so elitist, and start being more community oriented.

Natasha Albury

It is time for a national public health agenda, but we have some catching up to do.  In order to convince the new administration that public health is imperative, we first need to get the public behind us.  I do not believe this to be the case currently because, most simply, the general public does not understand what public health is comprised of.  I know personally that when mentioning public health, you are often greeted with silence, followed by a few seconds of noticeable thought, and then the question, “What is public health exactly?”  This is a problem.

Public health extends beyond flu vaccinations, anti-smoking regulations, and reminders to wash your hands, but this is what most people see and identify as public health.  They do not see the confluence of health, politics, environment, economics, and culture.  Public health is a complex discipline and I do not expect the general public in the near future to be able to speak proficiently on determinants of health inequalities.  However, we can do more to educate the public on matters of public health, and “riding the coat-tails” of our nation’s most recent discussion on healthcare reform is an excellent opportunity.  Just like public health, “society has an interest in ensuring conditions in which people can be healthy.” (Institute of Medicine 1988).

Katie Fidler
MPH Candidate
Portland State University