It’s that time of year when public health enthusiasts rejoice and remind the rest of the world why this field is so critical—this is National Public Health Week, a yearly observance since 1995. For 2013, the theme is "Public Health is ROI: Save Lives, Save Money." According to the American Public Health Association, (APHA), a key organizer of the yearly observance, this year’s theme was developed to highlight the value of prevention and the importance of well-supported public health systems in preventing disease, saving lives and curbing health care spending.

In honor of National Public Health Week, NewPublicHealth spoke with Georges C. Benjamin, MD, executive director of the APHA.

NewPublicHealth: Is this the first time that National Public Health Week has focused on the return on investment in public health?

Dr. Benjamin: I think it’s the first time we’ve done so directly. There’s no question that we have always talked about the value of public health and we’ve often talked about savings, but this is the first time we’ve really focused like a laser on that investment.

NPH: What reaction have you seen in states and local communities to this year’s theme?

A new commentary by Dr. Georges Benjamin, president of the American Public Health Association, looks at how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is impacting public health and how it will create new opportunities for better health for more people across the nation.

The Affordable Care Act affects all 10 essential public health services, writes Dr. Benjamin in the commentary published by the Institute of Medicine.  Dr. Benjamin says the ACA will influence the public health system in three major ways:

• Expanded insurance coverage will impact how public health departments offer clinical services: Governmental public health agencies currently providing clinical services may transfer cases to the private sector, such as routine childhood vaccinations.
• New care delivery models offer opportunities to integrate public health principles and enhance requirement for hospitals to define and utilize beneficial community efforts: Public health practitioners will have the opportunity to share their expertise on assessing the health of populations, implementing community and broad-based solutions, and evaluating the outcomes of these solutions.
• Public health services can reach more people: Programs and services such as, home visiting and other maternal child health programs and specialized behavioral health services will be made available to the general population, in addition to programs on prevention and protection.

“There is a lot to learn as we make this transformation to achieve better health and better value for our health investment. A transformed public health system is an essential element of that change,” Dr. Benjamin comments in the report.

>>Read the commentary.

>>Bonus links:

• Read a NewPublicHealth post on a convening of local, state and national public health leaders to develop guidance for transforming public health
• Read more on how states are implementing the ACA

Health disparities and social equity were key issues addressed at last month’s American Public Health Association (APHA) annual meeting. Angela Glover Blackwell, founder and CEO of PolicyLink, a national research and action institute whose goal is to advance economic and social equity, participated in the APHA president’s panel on the topic, where a key part of the discussion focused on the language used to discuss health disparities in the United States.

NewPublicHealth followed up with Angela Glover Blackwell to get her insights on the language of health disparities.

NewPublicHealth: During the panel at the APHA meeting, you talked about the need to be mindful of the language we use when talking about improving health for all Americans. How should we be characterizing the issues?

Angela Glover Blackwell: It is certainly good to see that the health world, public health and beyond, is talking about health disparities. Because for many years this was not anything that people talked about and it was not a topic at the American Public Health Association or any of the other big main stream meetings where health professionals gathered. So it’s a good thing that people have begun to talk about health disparities.

But, health disparities really talks about things being unequal. That’s what disparity means—unequal, different. But I don’t think that disparity captures what the condition is, nor does it suggest what the solution is. What I have heard others say and I have taken it on myself is the term health inequities, because the term “inequities” suggests unjust, unfair, and not just different. When you call them health inequities you focus on a societal problem that needs to be corrected, not just studied. The goal becomes achieving health equity, just and fair health outcomes.

It’s time that we recognize that we have unequal, unjust, unfair health outcomes and that they are related to race, and income, and place and we need to get sharp strategies that move us towards being able to help all people reach their full potential.

NPH: Where do we need to take the conversation from here?

Inspired by the 2012 American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently talked with a range of national thought leaders to discuss what’s needed—and what works—to achieve better health.

Today, we're featuring video interviews with Adewale Troutman, MD, MPH, CPH, President-elect of the APHA.

Troutman spoke about how looking back on his own personal story—how far he’s come to get where he is today—makes him hopeful for the future.

He also discussed how working with non-traditional partners can help public health departments address social determinants of health such as housing, education, urban blight and crime. This leads to fairer, healthier communities.

The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) recently celebrated the one year anniversary of the launch of national public health accreditation.

Over 100 health departments have engaged with the Public Health Accreditation Board on their accreditation journey, according to PHAB CEO Kaye Bender in an email exchange with NewPublicHealth, and more health departments enter the system each week. “One year post launch of voluntary national public health department accreditation, PHAB is excited about the progression of health departments through the process,” Bender wrote. “The first site visits began last month, and more are scheduled. We expect to announce the first accredited health departments in early 2013!”

At the recent APHA 2012 conference, representatives from California’s state and local health departments led a session offering their peers a first look at the accreditation process underway in California. As PHAB states, “the goal of national public health accreditation program is to improve and protect the health of the public by advancing the quality and performance of all health departments in the country – state, local, territorial and tribal.” All of the California representatives made a case for why accreditation is a priority for their respective departments.

“Accreditation equals opportunity,” said Dr. Ron Chapman, California Department of Public Health director. “Quality improvement is about problem solving. Infuse quality into what you do every day and you will see transformation.”

>>Watch a VIDEO with Ron Chapman about new opportunities to transform public health by making quality improvement a way of life.

Dr. Alonzo Plough, Emergency Preparedness and Response Program director for the Los Angeles County Public Health Department, said accreditation’s quality improvement standards align well with the “triple aim” goals of: improving patients’ experience of care, improving the health of populations and reducing the cost of health care.

Plumas County Public Health Agency director, Mimi Hall, talked about how building relationships with local hospitals and community and business leaders can help meet public health goals.

“We have to redefine the role of public health and work with outside organizations to get the best benefit for the community,” said Hall. “Accreditation pulls it all together.”

Inspired by the 2012 American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently talked with a range of national thought leaders to discuss what’s needed—and what works—to achieve better health.

Today, we're featuring video interviews with Reed Tuckson, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief of Medical Affairs for UnitedHealth Group.

Tuckson spoke with us about utilizing ever-advancing data sets and engendering public trust in order to improve individual and public health.

He also discussed how patient-centered care and the social determinants of illness must be approached and considered together in order to improve public health in communities.

Inspired by the 2012 American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently talked with a range of national thought leaders to discuss what’s needed—and what works—to achieve better health.

Today, we're featuring video interviews with Mel Kohn, MD, MPH, Public Health Director and State Health Officer for Oregon.

Kohn spoke with us about the important roles that law and policy will play in the future of public health—especially as health care reform continues and expands.

He also explained how injury prevention, while a relatively new area of practice in the world of public health, can help to dramatically reduce human and financial costs for both individuals and communities.

Inspired by the 2012 American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently talked with a range of national thought leaders to discuss what’s needed—and what works—to achieve better health.

Today, we're featuring video interviews with Ron Chapman, MD, MPH, Director of the California Department of Public Health.

Chapman spoke with us about the current national opportunity to transform public health by making quality improvement and performance management “a way of life.”

He also discussed how collaborating with city planners, the business community, transportation officials and others can enable us to build healthier communities from the ground up.

Public Health Law Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation housed at the Temple University Beasley School of Law, recently released a new, comprehensive online portal called LawAtlas that allows users to explore variation in laws across U.S. states and over time. Having more information about state laws, and their effect on health over time, is a critical step toward understanding what works to improve health. LawAtlas offers:

• Interactive Law Maps to show how certain laws differ by state and how they have changed over time.
• Policy Surveillance Reports to summarize the state of various public health laws across the country
• Data that public health law researchers can work with to expand upon existing research

NewPublicHealth caught up with Damika Webb, JD, Law Fellow at the Center for Health Law Policy and Practice at Temple University, at last week’s APHA Annual Meeting to chat about LawAtlas and how it can be used to better understand why policy surveillance is critical, and what we can learn from a program like LawAtlas.

NewPublicHealth: Why is it important to conduct research to know whether particular laws and policies are working to improve public health?

Damika Webb: By measuring the dimensions of a law, you can figure out which components of the law are having a positive or negative effect on health outcomes.

NPH: Why is it important to track how public health laws and policies differ from state to state?

Inspired by the 2012 American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently talked with a range of national thought leaders to discuss what’s needed—and what works—to achieve better health.

Today, we're featuring video interviews Alex Briscoe, director of the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency.

In the first video, Briscoe talks about the connection between health, wealth, race and class. Briscoe says, "it's now harder to get out of poverty than in the history of our civilization." Watch the video:

Briscoe also talked about how we can shift the power dynamic that exists between consumer and physician. How can we empower patients to realize that they are their own best clinician? Briscoe shares his ideas:

Finally, Briscoe talks about "the trump card" in achieving better health outcomes: the resilience of communities and individuals. Watch the video: