Public health experts can’t ‘stay out of politics,’ nor should they
Currently public health, a bedrock of our society, is crumbling. Increasingly, public health scientists and practitioners are receiving politically motivated calls to “stick to science” when we speak out about the importance of evidence-based policies and practices. The calls are most notable when we critique policies that are tied to health, but occur on other societal issues such as climate change, Medicare for all and gun control.
However, we must ignore these calls to be silent. Public health is indeed political.
It is political when climate change is displacing and killing vulnerable populations. It is political when women are experiencing greater barriers to their own reproductive rights. It is political when government-assisted programs that feed economically disadvantaged populations, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), continuously have their funding on the chopping block.
Public health is political when our health care system continues to fail low income and marginalized populations. Public health is political when an increasing number of individuals with Type 1 diabetes are rationing insulin because they cannot afford the drug needed to keep themselves alive. Public health is political when patients’ first thought after receiving a cancer diagnosis is “Can I afford this?” instead of “How will I defeat cancer?” knowing the alarming number of
cancer survivors in medical debt.
The connection between public health and politics is increasingly evident during the current COVID-19 pandemic, in which practitioners discuss the importance of sheltering in place to save lives while simultaneously politicians argue that the need to open the economy is more important than protecting the most vulnerable.
We entered public health not only to improve the health of the population, but also to protect and serve the most vulnerable. Public health is effective only if we aim to improve the health of all people regardless of age, race, gender, religion, ethnicity, income, and sexual orientation. In a time where policymakers are ignoring, distorting, and undermining public health, it is most important that we stand up and advocate for public health, go to bat for vulnerable populations, and provide a voice for the voiceless.
Though health professionals have gradually begun to hold positions in political office, public health continues to have a strained relationship with politics. For this reason, we must step out of our offices and labs in order to advocate more publicly for evidence-based policies. I urge public health professionals to enter politics, including elected office. Academic training in public health is rooted in finding and
interpreting evidence to resolve a disease burden, a crucial skill for developing and informing policies.
When someone says public health professionals should leave politics to the politicians, or “stick to science,” ref lect on the seat belt laws that saved the lives of countless motorists in car accidents. Ref lect on the Clean Indoor Air Act, which prohibited smoking in workplaces, restaurants, and bars, and its positive impact on the reduction of respiratory-related illnesses. Think about the recent sodium warning rule in New York City, which requires chain restaurants to post a label for food with high sodium and contemplate how this new policy will contribute towards decreasing the number of New Yorkers diagnosed with heart disease. These policies are the result of public health engaging with politics.
The current pandemic has moved most graduation celebrations online and pulled many of us into the public health workforce prior to the end of the semester. We are witnessing how society needs us and how politics can undermine us. In just a few months, COVID-19 has taken the lives of over 116,000 individuals in the United States. As a result, we have observed how politics inf luences the adequacy of our response. For this reason, it is important that we use the knowledge gained during our academic training to inform and advocate for evidence-based actions. Because at the end of the day, public health is political.