We are in a tumultuous time of upheaval and reckoning in public health and healthcare. The Trump administration launches daily attacks across sectors that impact health nationally and globally. As public health and healthcare leaders and experts, we are in a unique position to speak out against these injustices. We have deep understanding, experience, and expertise in health systems change, patient-centered care, and how policies impact health outcomes.
Our vital understanding of the intersections of health, poverty, oppression, and human rights is vast. We know that providing high-quality, culturally responsive, and accessible health care and services improves health outcomes. We also know that better healthcare for marginalized populations improves the health of everyone. Health is a human right. Public health and healthcare are political. Therefore, it’s all the more important for the public health community to take action to protect health, safety, and human rights and demand better for our communities.
Critical Health Issues at Risk
Advocacy is particularly needed to support the tens of thousands of laid-off workers from federal agencies. These include the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Veterans Administration (VA). It’s equally important to protect Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) from sweeping cuts to essential programs that will have devastating consequences for millions. Additionally, the shuttering of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is already having a destructive ripple effect around the globe. Shattering these lifesaving programs that have alleviated poverty, combated diseases, and supported economic development will no doubt have negative impacts on health and safety for decades to come. Below are five ways to advocate for public health.
1) Archive Public Health Data
Data drives public health and healthcare. Preserving essential public U.S. governmental data that is currently at risk is a large undertaking. Many groups have been working diligently to preserve critical public health data. A team of volunteer archivists has recreated the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website exactly as it was the day Trump was inaugurated. The Data Rescue Project is a coordinated effort among a group of data organizations that serves as a clearinghouse for data rescue-related efforts and data access points for public U.S. governmental data that are currently at risk. The Preserving Public Health Data Collective at the Harvard School of Public Health has been holding Public Health Data Preservation Hackathons. These groups offer ways for individuals and organizations to support this important effort on their websites. MIT also offers a step-by-step guide for data preservation.
2) Civic Engagement Improves Health
Moreover, participating in activities that empower people politically can create large-scale change. Political decisions and drivers that underlie the social determinants of health are known as the political determinants of health. Some health leaders even view health-based civic engagement as a professional responsibility. For example, Vot-ER is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to integrate civic engagement into healthcare by helping patients register to vote during routine healthcare visits. The American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services all recognize voting as a social determinant of health. Similarly, the American Public Health Association is protecting public health through policy making, speaking out in the news, and providing resources for the public health community to stand up for public health interests.
3) Bring Your Expertise to the Community
Public health is social, racial, and economic justice work. In addition to our everyday work, we can also show up for public health by engaging in advocacy and activism. Attend your local city council meetings and voice your concerns. Offer innovative solutions and creative ideas using your unique public health and/or healthcare expertise and experience. Whether you’re a medical provider, researcher, policy expert, community health worker, or simply passionate about community health, your voice and lived/living experience are needed. Decisions made at the state and local level have great impacts on health and beyond. Public health champions can lead by example and encourage others to follow suit. Speaking as a health expert has power. Use your hard-earned credentials for positive change.
4) Individual and Collective Action
Belonging to a community is more important than ever. Joining national, strategic movement organizations working for justice and liberation for all people is one way to connect to people aligned with your values while supporting causes you care about. Groups such as Showing Up For Racial Justice, Working Families Party, and Indivisible are good places to start. Self-education is also key to advocacy. Read books and attend trainings to deepen your knowledge of history, how we got to this political moment, and learn from other movement leaders around the world about how they have worked to defeat authoritarianism. Become educated about executive orders related to public health practice, immigration and public health, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. As constituents, we hold great power. Our elected officials are supposed to represent our needs and interests. Therefore, we have the right to voice our opinions. Calling your representatives and sending emails are effective and efficient ways of making a political impact.
5) Strengthen Self-Care and Community Care
Every action and every voice matters. We need to rest to have energy for the long haul. Find what nourishes and recharges you. Healers are providing spaces for grounding and helping people stay regulated. Artists are creating art that moves, inspires, and offers hope. Caring for your loved ones and community through mutual aid networks is also advocacy. Whether you’re organizing, marching in the streets, calling legislators, educating yourself, or simply surviving and resting, you are needed, and there is a place for you in this movement. We all have different capacities for action and whatever you’re doing is important and valued.
As a community, we can band together, raise our collective voices, and protect public health.
Alison T. Brill