Investing in public health is a long-term process, but if done correctly, it is one that will show a huge return in the future.
That is the message of this year’s National Public Health Week theme: “Public Health is ROI: Save Lives, Save Money.”
ROI, or “return on investment” is a way of thinking about public health that focuses not on immediate benefits, which can be hard to see, but on the bigger picture, said Kimberly Moore, MHSA, APHA’s director of Affiliate affairs.
“We want to show people that the real value of public health isn’t just reflected in terms of dollars and cents,” Moore told The Nation’s Health. “Public health helps people realize far-reaching and life-changing results.”
National Public Health Week, which is held each April, is a time for public health advocates to reach out to their communities with events centering on the theme. Participants include communities, health departments, schools, places of worship and other groups. Events include health fairs, screenings, advocacy workshops and other events to raise awareness of public health issues.
The theme was announced at APHA’s 140th Annual Meeting in San Francisco in October. APHA is the official organizer of National Public Health Week and develops a national campaign to educate the public, policymakers and practitioners about issues related to each year’s theme.
This year, National Public Health Week will be held from April 1–7 and will have five subthemes:
Monday: Ensuring a safe, healthy home;
Tuesday: Providing a safe environment for children at school;
Wednesday: Creating a healthy workplace;
Thursday: Protecting drivers, passengers and pedestrians; and
Friday: Empowering a healthy community.
The theme this year aims to focus attention on declines in public health funding that threaten the health of families, communities and the country as a whole.
The National Public Health Week brochure, which is available for download at www.nphw.org, notes that the cost of U.S. health care is rising faster than national income. But studies have shown that investing $10 per person each year in proven, community-based public health efforts could save the U.S. more than $16 billion over 5 years, which is a $5.60 return for every $1 invested.
To help with event planning, APHA has created a toolkit that will be available online this month at www.nphw.org.
For more information on National Public Health Week, visit www.nphw.org or www.twitter.com/nphw or email nphw{at}apha.org.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
