No Ka Oi Health: Recognizing National Public Health Week | News, Sports, Jobs

Kristin Mills, Public Health Educator, Maui District Health Office

The week of April 7-13 this year is National Public Health Week (NPHW). Priority areas being highlighted during this year’s NPHW include:

• Prioritizing access to essential health resources and services.

• Addressing the impact of climate change on public health and advocating for sustainable solutions.

• Ensuring every community has the opportunity to achieve optimal health.

• Investing in and supporting the next generation of public health professionals.

First, what is public health?

Public health organizations, such as the Hawaii State Department of Health and the Hawaii Public Health Institute, work to make our communities healthier for you, so you and your families can live healthier.

While your physician takes care of an individual’s health and medical needs, public health focuses on the health of entire communities, through prevention, protection, and promotion.

• Prevention: Public health takes steps to prevent diseases and injuries, such as encouraging regular health screenings, controlling vectors that can spread disease, and creating policies around wearing seatbelts and helmets.

• Protection: Public health protects communities from environmental hazards, infectious diseases, and other health threats, whether natural or man-made.

• Promotion: Public health aims to create healthier communities by encouraging healthy behaviors and lifestyles, such as eating healthy foods, exercising, and refraining from unhealthy substances.

Public Health Departments, such as here in Hawaii, include many branches, each focusing on various aspects of improving the health of our communities.

A few public health branches include:

• Vital Records: assists community members with their birth, marriage, and death certificates.

• Public Health Nursing: covers a broad range of topics focusing on disease prevention and management, health promotion, and advocacy.

• Environmental Health: addresses many environmental factors that impact health, including food safety, vectors, clean air and water, and safe living conditions.

• Disease Investigations: works to prevent and manage a broad spectrum of communicable diseases, including vaccine preventable, vector-borne, and food-borne diseases.

• Family Health Services, including Women Infant Children (WIC): provides care for pregnant women, newborns, and children, including immunization programs.

• Adult, Child, and Adolescent Mental Health: supports behavioral health for all age groups, including youth.

• Developmental Disabilities: supports the needs of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

• Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: includes health education and supports policies that aim to create healthier individuals, families, and communities.

• Emergency Preparedness: works hard to prepare individuals, families, and communities for imminent natural and/or man-made disasters.

Each of these branches within our public health departments not only works on their specific priority areas, but collectively our branches work together as a team. This team works on long-term and ongoing priorities, but also is capable of shifting gears to address spontaneous emerging and urgent situations, such as an outbreak and/or natural disaster.

The Hawaii Public Health Institute (HIPHI) works alongside the Hawaii State Department of Health to strengthen public health across Hawaii. As a nonprofit, HIPHI fosters community-driven initiatives to tackle public health issues, from chronic disease prevention to environmental health advocacy. With a focus on policy, systems, and environmental change, HIPHI engages in collaborative efforts to create sustainable improvements in public health. Through partnerships with community organizations, health professionals, and local leaders, HIPHI promotes a vision of healthier, thriving communities throughout the state.

While public health covers a lot of topics, part of this year’s NPHW priority topics is “It starts with you”. Through this priority topic, each of you are encouraged to take a small step toward living healthier. Whether you choose to focus on consuming healthier foods and drinks, moving your body more, getting more sleep, cutting out unhealthy substances, or getting a health screening you are due for, any one of these small steps can and will help you to live healthier.

If you have any questions about public health, feel free to contact Public Health Education within the Maui District Health Office at (808) 964-8216.

Kristin Mills is the Public Health Educator at the Maui District Health Office.