{"id":19846,"date":"2023-05-23T17:41:13","date_gmt":"2023-05-23T21:41:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/?p=19846"},"modified":"2024-09-17T15:10:49","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T19:10:49","slug":"public-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kzoo.edu\/news\/public-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Students Launch ‘This Is Public Health’ Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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If you\u2019re not sure what public health encompasses or what its workers do, you\u2019re not alone, and an awareness campaign from a Kalamazoo College class aims to change that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is Public Health at K,\u201d adapted from the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health, is being launched by K\u2019s Issues in Public Health<\/a> class, taught by Dr. Khadija Brumblay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students in the class said jointly, \u201cDr. Brumblay\u2019s class has impacted our perception of public health and public health workers. We hope to expand that understanding to K students to help them realize how public health impacts their daily lives.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public health promotes well-being through education and advocacy, protects health through policy and legislation, and prevents illnesses, diseases and injuries. It includes things as varied as speed limit signs, ergonomic chairs, trash cans, sewage systems, vaccine developments and campaigns, water sanitation, mental health prevention, diet and physical exercise education, tobacco taxation and national surveys that monitor health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its workers are community workers who visit homes to engage with people, their families and entire communities. They organize education campaigns, develop sexual-education curriculum and cancer screening campaigns. They collect pond and rain water, soil and animal droppings to identify the causes and risk factors for diseases, while predicting and modeling the occurrence and trends of diseases, illnesses and injuries. They promote planting trees and encourage people to use seat belts while driving and helmets while biking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter who they are or what they do, \u201cpublic health workers are advocates for various communities who work in pursuit of a healthier, more equitable society that prioritizes the well-being of all,” the class said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 100 years ago, about half of all the babies born in the U.S. didn\u2019t live past their first year. A century of interventions as simple as hand washing have pushed overall life expectancy from 40 to 78 years in the U.S. That is the might of public health.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Issues
Cameron, Danielle, Lizbeth, Jessica, Emma, Sofia, Sophia F., Sophia H, Jonathan, Amelia, Mahum, Vanita, Elizabeth, Sophia L, Onora, Lindsey, Addison, Leslie, Thea, Megan, Nate, Rachel and Hana are students in the Issues in Public Health Class.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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These positive trends are observed worldwide. But significant inequities between countries and between communities in the same countries remain due to the socio-demographic, economic and political hierarchies in our societies. In Kalamazoo, infant mortality is much greater for Black children than white children. Equity and access to opportunities are therefore at the center of all public health efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, for the first time in human history, life expectancy is declining due to a combination of deaths of despair such as opioid overdoses, suicides and the COVID-19 pandemic. In light of recent developments, including vaccine hesitancy and reduced trust in science and the medical profession, it is important to pause and appreciate public health for its central role in human health and well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can help by spreading the word. Talk to your friends, share links and hashtags (#ThisIsPublicHealthatK) from the campaign, and like and comment on social media posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the College’s motto is lux esto, or be light, “public health is the light leading us to a brighter future,” the class said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From the Class<\/h2>\n\n\n\n