Comments on "important challenges"

We asked a week or two ago about the important challenges facing public health.

In response to your question as to what are the most important public health challenges these days, I would offer the following -- the pressure that the increase in population is putting on our public health systems. These include medical care for different population groups, especially the elderly; increasing amounts of resources for meeting the needs of larger populations, and here I would mention public water supplies , as we are still in a drought; and the effect that development to provide for more people is having on environment, and here I would mention the loss of wildlife habitat, recreational open space, and natural vegetation.

Great point-- as you say, the population pressure comes from the numbers, but also the density and the location of population increases. Note that many of the populations that are increasing are populations that have unmet health needs (immigrants, children, elders, the uninsured).

A friend who attended the Wisconsin Public Health Association Conference added the following:

Youth violence -- it cannot merely be a problem for law enforcement: its causes are broad, and it affects all of us in some way. By the way there was also a talk about the importance of partnerships in public health, which seems right down this book's alley.

Violence is slowly being recognized as a public health issue. I see lots of room for alliances between traditional public health organizations and the many organizations that work on violence prevention specifically. Lots of other groups have a big stake in this issue: law enforcement, health care, economic development, education. A huge challenge but also as you point out a huge opportunity. People who work with the victims of violence are really hungry for solutions on the prevention side.

A central challenge for a violence prevention alliance will be to figure out how to start understanding the issue the same way, and how to start taking useful steps, and how to share the work (and the cost) in a way that is equitable and sustainable.

There are school-based programs and outreach programs that have been rigorously evaluated-- read more about them on thecommunityguide.org.

Americans learned to recycle; most of us quit smoking; a few of us went to the moon; we sent a robot to dig up water from the surface of Mars. The fact that the violence issue is complex could be scary-- or it could keep people interested and motivated!

--Steve Orton