It would be hard to imagine a more challenging time than the present for the United States to confront a global public health crisis during which people are asked to trust their government, the medical establishment, and science, and to take steps that impose inconvenience on themselves to protect others.

And yet here we are—and here we likely will remain unless we respond to the perfect storm of social realities that have been growing in intensity for decades and begin to reimagine public health. To do this, we need to redefine what public health means, and change how we collect data, how we design interventions, how we engage champions and allies, and how we build trust, in part by addressing systemic racism in the public health sector.

Five Realities Behind the Public Health Care Crisis

  1. Lack of understanding about public health and prevention. 
  2. Low levels of social cohesion
  3. Decreasing trust in institutions.
  4. Persistent structural racism.
  5. Polarization and politicization.

Five Steps the Health Sector Can Take to Move Forward

COVID-19 didn’t create these realities, so bringing the pandemic under control will not automatically resolve them. What’s more, variations on these five realities are hindering our ability to address other important issues, such as climate change, gun violence, voting rights, and the opportunity gap. No one sector or set of issue advocates can change these realities on its own no matter how hard it tries. It will take a concerted effort across sectors and issues.

  1. Use data to see all people.
  2. Reach beyond the “low-hanging fruit.”
  3. Take control of the public health narrative.
  4. Engage others as allies and champions.
  5. Focus on structural racism not just as a determining factor on public health, but a problem to address within public health.

Read the full article about reimagining public health by Kevin T. Kirkpatrick at Stanford Social Innovation Review.