Public health impacts infinite facets of our lives. Be it in supporting a stronger and healthier workforce at the heart of our economy, facilitating military readiness, or ensuring the day-to-day well-being of our children, the need to maintain and improve the health of our nation unites us with shared purpose. Please join us as we recommit to that unity, work to improve and sustain public health, and Make America Healthy Again.
Whether you’re new to public health or a seasoned professional, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) has what you need to promote better health and greater resilience to disease. Established by Congress to address national health priorities, ODPHP develops and implements resources and initiatives that any person, organization, office, or agency can use to help fortify the pillars of our individual and community health. Each translates the best available evidence and science into actionable guidance and tools.
The Healthy People initiative (the nation’s “roadmap for health”) establishes 10-year health objectives based on the latest public health priorities and measures progress toward their achievement. Developed in concert with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Dietary Guidelines for Americans provides advice on what to eat and drink to meet nutrient needs, promote health, and prevent disease. The Physical Activity Guidelines and its Move Your Way initiative support communities in developing effective physical activity promotion campaigns and feature materials to encourage physical activity — a key component of staying physically and mentally fit. Health Literacy Online provides guidance to organizations communicating vital health information in our increasingly digital world — while MyHealthfinder puts health literacy principles into practice by offering clear, actionable health information for consumers, including personalized recommendations for clinical preventive services (such as recommended cancer screenings based on people’s age and sex).
The conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. Evidence conclusively shows that these conditions, increasingly and profoundly, influence our health and well-being. Using the latest research in this area, ODPHP also supports initiatives that provide guidance on how to address health on the multiple levels that impact these factors. For example, Food Is Medicine develops and implements strategies to reduce nutrition-related chronic diseases and overcome barriers to good nutrition, such as food insecurity.
Just like the public health challenges that they seek to address, these programs and initiatives are far-reaching. But delivering these interventions and resources in service to more than 341 million people and their communities throughout the vast expanse of the United States takes a lot of hands — more hands than a single office can provide. To innovate delivery of these crucial resources, ODPHP establishes partnerships, collaborations, and a shared stewardship of public health with people, organizations, and other government offices at the national, state, tribal, and local level. Which brings me back to my initial call to action.
ODPHP has the evidence-based guidance and tools to help support improved health and greater resilience for people in your communities — and we continue to learn more as we put those findings into practice, every day, in new and innovative ways. But to most effectively deliver programs and resources, we need your help.
You know your community. You’re already working to fulfill their health needs. You know where they’re succeeding, and which areas can use a little more support. You know the people who call your community “home.” Use our work to strengthen and sustain your efforts: to create greater reach for ODPHP-developed resources, help others thrive, and help you improve health outcomes for the people you serve.
Together, we can deliver on Secretary Kennedy’s promise to Make America Healthy Again. Together, we can bring more partners to the table, improve our understanding of current health challenges, innovate new practices, and expand opportunities to promote health and prevent disease. Together, we can make public health a shared success for all people.
For more information on ODPHP’s initiatives and resources, check out our full site at https://odphp.health.gov.
Yours in health,
Brandon
RADM Brandon Taylor
