The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued a list of six “winnable battles” in a public statement regarding the nation’s major public health priorities in the 21st century.

The CDC’s official domestic “winnable battles” are as follows:

• Healthcare acquired infections (HAIs): Reducing the incidence of infections acquired due to medical treatments and/or surgery
• Reducing new HIV/AIDS infections via improved education, prevention methods and reduction of health care disparities
• Prevention of motor vehicle injuries via improved seat belt/airbag legislation, graduated drivers’ licensing and better DUI prevention measures
• Obesity, nutrition, physical activity, and food safety
• Teen pregnancy, via a variety of evidence-based education and prevention measures
• Tobacco: Reduction of tobacco use and tobacco-related illnesses due to both smoking and secondhand smoke (CDC, 2010)

The CDC established these public health priorities for the nation in partnership with public and private state and local public health agencies and organizations, which will work collaboratively towards achieving these broad public health goals. The reasons the CDC selected the above six priorities are twofold: 1) these areas make the biggest collective impact on the nation’s public health in terms of both financial and human costs; and 2) they are areas where we already have effective tools in place to succeed.

The average American has little direct contact with the CDC, but the federal agency’s priorities do in fact impact each and every citizen in many ways. Public health is administered largely at the state and local level in the U.S., via both government agencies and private organizations, as well as in the community at large. One organization that serves to assist both the CDC and local agencies carry out key public health priorities is the American Public Health Association (APHA).

”We see ourselves as a nongovernmental voice for the nation’s public health,” says Georges C. Benjamin, MD, FACP, FACEP (Emeritus), and executive director of the APHA. “We’re basically an umbrella organization that serves as a private advocate for both the CDC and the public at large.”

In addition to supporting the CDC’s “winnable battles,” the APHA has also set three main public health priorities that drive its own advocacy goals, as follows:

• Achieving universal access to health care, via health reform and other political advocacy goals
• Eliminating health care disparities (i.e., economic disparities, regional/cultural disparities, etc.)
• Building a better public health infrastructure

Why set priorities? “We can’t do everything,” explains Dr. Benjamin. “But if we focus our efforts, we can make an enormous difference.”

Dr. Benjamin especially emphasizes the need for improved public health infrastructure at the national, state, and local levels when it comes to achieving either the CDC’s six “winnable battles” or any other major public health initiatives. “The American public health infrastructure is currently very weak, especially at the state and local levels,” Dr. Benjamin says. “They are often unable to carry out even their basic duties as required by law due to a lack of resources.”

One of the APHA’s key priorities is advocating for increased federal funding for the national public health infrastructure, which includes the CDC and state and local agencies, as well as lobbying for increased public-health-related legislation, such as seat belt laws, developing walkable/bike-friendly communities, and public smoking bans. An emerging area of interest for the APHA is the impact of climate change on public health. The APHA also supports the accreditation of graduate schools of public health and certifying the public health workforce.

Dr. Benjamin is also quick to point out that while support of public health at the government level is crucial, the greatest potential to improve the nation’s public health lies with the average citizen. “We need to hold both ourselves and our public officials accountable,” he says. “I would love to see the same level of public engagement in health matters as you do with say, the closing of a school or a fire station.”

If every person in the United States does three simple things—focuses on better nutrition, gets regular physical exercise and refrains from smoking—“the public health impact would be tremendous,” says Dr. Benjamin. And by engaging in their communities, whether by urging their elected officials to support improved health funding or getting involved with their local zoning commission, they can benefit not just the health of themselves and their families, but the whole nation. “Public health is a public issue,” says Dr. Benjamin. “And with more public involvement, there’s no limit to what we can accomplish.”

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010). Winnable battles.