National
Public Health
Week
2014
Public Health:
Start Here
2014 Partner Toolkit
Public Health: Start Here
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014
1. Overview
Welcome from APHA’s executive director
Dear Colleagues,
For nearly two decades, public health professionals have united communities nationwide each April to celebrate National Public
Health Week. Every year, NPHW uses a unique theme to explore and share public health with our communities.While the
theme may change from year to year, our core commitment to public health and prevention has remained unchanged.
This year, NPHW 2014 will take place from April 7–13 and focus on guiding communities through the evolving public
health system with the theme “Public Health: Start Here.”
The public health system that keeps our communities healthy and safe is changing as technologies advance, public attitudes
toward health shift and more health and safety options become available through policy changes such as the Affordable
Care Act (ACA). Public health professionals are the guides of this system, helping our communities navigate the many
choices along the way.
NPHW 2014 is an opportunity for public health and clinical health professionals to engage with individuals and
communities to lead them through the changing world of public health. We hope that as you plan local events and
activities as part of NPHW 2014 you’ll help raise awareness of the critical role that public health and prevention play in
keeping communities healthy.
Public health professionals and organizations are the key to empowering people to participate in this exciting evolution of
the public health system to improve the health and wellness of the whole community.
NPHW 2014 breaks down these changes into daily themes to make the transition easy to understand and navigate.
•Monday, April 7: Be healthy from the start. From maternal health and school nutrition to emergency preparedness,
public health starts at home. Let us show you around.
•Tuesday, April 8: Don’t panic. Disaster preparedness starts with community-wide commitment and action. We’re here to
help you weather the unexpected.
•Wednesday, April 9: Get out ahead. Prevention is now a nationwide priority. Let us show you where you fit in.
•Thursday, April 10: Eat well. The system that keeps our nation’s food safe and healthy is complex. We can guide you
through the choices.
•Friday, April 11: Be the healthiest nation in one generation. Best practices for community health come from around
the globe. We have a world of public health to show you.
Included in this year’s NPHW 2014 toolkit are materials and resources to help you effectively shape and promote activities
and key messages during the week. We hope the toolkit will help you engage your communities with public health and
prevention during National Public Health Week 2014 and beyond.
Thank you for joining APHA’s mission to create a healthier country. Together, we can improve the health of the nation.
Sincerely,
Georges Benjamin, MD
Executive Director, American Public Health Association
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014 • www.nphw.org 1
Public Health: Start Here
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014
National Public Health Week 2014: Overview
Since 1995, communities from across the country have participated in National Public Health Week. Every April,
we come together to celebrate public health and renew our commitment to promoting a healthier nation using a
unique theme to center the conversation. NPHW 2014 will focus on ways to guide the community through the
evolving public health system with the theme: “Public Health: Start Here.”
As we invite communities to join NPHW 2014, let’s work to help them understand how public health affects their
lives and offer guidance on how to navigate the changing system. Whether it’s through research, data collection,
health education, policy change or direct services, public health lays the foundation and creates the conditions
that put healthy choices within reach. Let’s help our communities figure out where to start and how to access the
variety of options made possible by public health.
A recent change that will impact the public health system is the enactment of certain provisions of the Affordable
Care Act (ACA). Taking two U.S. health systems — public health and health care — and bringing them into each
other’s world, the ACA envisions more collaboration between the health workforces to save lives and money.
The ACA signals a shift in our nation’s health system from one that focuses on treatment of the sick to one that
is committed to proactively keeping people and communities healthy and safe. Included in the historic law are
comprehensive prevention provisions consistent with those called for by APHA in its health reform agenda and
supported by other leading experts in population health.
National Public Health Week 2014 will fall at a critical time in the ACA process — just after the first Health
Insurance Marketplace open enrollment period ends on March 31, 2014. This will be an important opportunity to
rally stakeholders and members of our communities together around the value of public health. We need you to
participate, and to remind your communities that public health professionals can help them navigate these changing
times. Tell them: Start Here.
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014 • www.nphw.org 2
Public Health: Start Here
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014
MONDAY, april 7
Be Healthy From the Start
Public health starts at home. From family nutrition and maternal health to safety precautions and disaster preparedness,
the first step the community takes toward public health are in the comfort of their own home. Empower your
community to take action at home through better meal planning, conducting safety upgrades and preparing for
emergencies.
Did you know?
•Breastfeeding is recommended for at least the first year of a child’s life, and exclusively for the first 6 months. Longer
lifetime durations of breastfeeding are associated with decreased risks of maternal breast cancer, ovarian cancer, Type
2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In addition, longer durations of breastfeeding are associated with decreased risk
of many common childhood infections and sudden infant death syndrome, as well as chronic conditions in offspring
such as obesity, Type 1 diabetes, and leukemia.1
•Prenatal care can help keep mothers and their babies healthy. Babies of mothers who do not get prenatal care are
three times more likely to have a low birth weight and five times more likely to die than those born to mothers who
do get care.2
• Globally, an estimated 43 million preschool children were overweight or obese in 2010, a 60 percent increase since
1990. And children’s early-life experiences, such as lack of breast feeding, too-little sleep and too-much television
can increase the risk of obesity later in life. That’s why early child care providers have such a crucial role to play in
turning around the obesity epidemic.3
•Nearly one-third of all students in the United States do not graduate from high school on time. It’s a destructive
cycle: Students who don’t graduate face lifelong health risks and high medical costs, and they are more likely to
engage in risky health behaviors. They are less likely to be employed and insured, and they earn less — all of which
continues the cycle of poverty and disparities.4
1
APHA Endorses the Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding, http://www.apha.org/advocacy/policy/policysearch/default.htm?id=1422
2
Womenshealth.gov Prenatal Health Fact Sheet, http://womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/prenatal-care.html
3
Harvard School of Public Health, http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-prevention/early-child-care/
4
APHA Center for School, Health and Education, http://www.schoolbasedhealthcare.org/index.php/key-issues/health-and-well-being/
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014 • www.nphw.org 3
Public Health: Start Here
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014
Be Healthy From the Start, continued
Start Here:
•The most effective way to encourage breastfeeding among soon-to-be or new mothers is education. Encourage
growing families in your community to attend educational seminars on breastfeeding that outline best practices and
benefits.
•Share resources such as informational videos and websites with new mothers on breastfeeding. For example: www.
who.int/topics/breastfeeding/en or www2.aap.org/breastfeeding
•Work with local businesses to set up breastfeeding centers for their employees.
•Start a support group for new mothers to share their experiences and create a sense of community. Public health
professionals can help answer questions or provide resources for breastfeeding, prenatal health and other topics related
to family health.
•Child care providers are in a unique position to initiate healthy eating and exercise habits among young children and
encourage similar behavior at home. Create an information-sharing group with local child care facilities and schools
to distribute information on healthy eating for young children.
•Create local events in your community for families that focus on healthy eating and nutrition. Invite families to share
healthy recipes or talk about ways to make household favorites more nutritious.
•School-based health centers provide excellent, accessible health care and information for students across the country.
The next step in helping local students is working to reduce dropout rates. Collaborate across schools and their
surrounding communities to bolster educational success.5
•Work with local schools and community centers to develop after-school programs to help at-risk students with
homework. Partner with a local university to identify volunteers to serve as tutors or mentors to students. Share
tips and insights from national reports such as Building a Grad Nation: www.americaspromise.org/our-work/
grad-nation/~/media/Files/Our%20Work/Grad%20Nation/Building%20a%20Grad%20Nation/
BuildingAGradNation2012.ashx
5
APHA Center for School, Health and Education, http://www.schoolbasedhealthcare.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/APHA4_article_Health_Rev_9_14_FINAL2.pdf
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014 • www.nphw.org 4
Public Health: Start Here
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014
TuesDAY, april 8
Don’t Panic
Public health professionals help communities withstand the impact of a natural or man-made disaster by planning
ahead, acting as a source of information during the crisis and helping to mitigate the long- and short-term effects.
During NPHW 2014, share tips for disaster preparedness with your community so they can take steps at home to plan
ahead for the unexpected.
Did you know?
•Emergency preparedness is not just for Californians, Midwesterners and Gulf Coast residents. Most communities
may be affected by several types of hazards during a lifetime. Americans also travel more than ever before to areas
with different hazard risks than at home.6
•Every year, thousands of people are affected by severe weather threats, such as tornadoes and severe thunderstorms.
Preliminary data for 2012 shows there were more than 450 weather-related fatalities and nearly 2,600 injuries.7
•Each year, more than 2,500 people die and 12,600 are injured in home fires in the United States, with direct
property loss due to home fires estimated at $7.3 billion annually. Home fires can be prevented!8
•Oftentimes, we may not realize that our actions online might put us, our families and even our country at risk.
Learning about the dangers online and taking action to protect ourselves is the first step in making the Internet a
safer place for everyone. Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility and we all have a role to play.9
•Flu seasons are unpredictable and can be severe. Over a period of 30 years, between 1976 and 2006, estimates of fluassociated deaths in the United States range from a low of about 3,000 to a high of about 49,000 people.10
6
Be Informed, FEMA Factsheet, http://www.ready.gov/be-informed
7
Severe Weather Factsheet, FEMA, http://www.ready.gov/severe-weather
8
Fires Factsheet, FEMA, http://www.ready.gov/fires
9
Cyber Attack Factsheet, FEMA, http://www.ready.gov/cyber-attack
10
Key Facts about Influenza (Flu) & Flu Vaccine, CDC, http://www.cdc.gov/flu/keyfacts.htm
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014 • www.nphw.org 5
Public Health: Start Here
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014
Don’t Panic, continued
Start Here:
•Gather your household for a night of emergency preparedness: Make plans for putting together an emergency
stockpile kit, create a crisis communication plan, designate an emergency meeting place and hold household
emergency drills.
•Educate your community about disaster alerts that they can receive on their cell phones from government agencies
such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
•All Americans should have at least a three-day supply of food and water stored in their homes, with at least one
gallon of water per person per day and a week’s supply of food that doesn’t require refrigeration. Help your
community understand how to develop and maintain an emergency stockpile with resources such as www.ready.
gov/ and action.apha.org/site/MessageViewer?dlv_id=39563&em_id=34622.0
•Spread the word about emergency preparedness at your child’s school, your parents’ retirement community and the
other places you spend time.Volunteer to help these places assess their readiness and start planning.
•Promote awareness of how local public health systems keep communities healthy at home, such as keeping our
food and water safe. Encourage residents and leaders to take a moment to imagine how dramatically our lives
would change if that system disappeared. Let your key decision-makers know that you support public health and
prevention.
•CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone 6 months of age and older as the first and most important step
toward protecting against this serious disease. While there are many different flu viruses, the flu vaccine is designed
to protect against the three main flu strains that research indicates will cause the most illness during the flu season.
Get the flu vaccine as soon as it becomes available each year – the protection you get from vaccination will last
throughout the flu season.
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014 • www.nphw.org 6
Public Health: Start Here
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014
WednesDAY, april 9
Get Out Ahead
Prevention is now a nationwide priority, and as the public health system evolves, there are more options than ever
when it comes to preventive health measures. Public health and clinical health professionals must work collaboratively
to help individuals identify and pursue the best preventative health options.
Did you know?
•Today, seven in 10 deaths in the U.S. are related to preventable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure,
heart disease and cancer. Another striking fact is that 75 percent of our health care dollars are spent treating such
diseases. However, only 3 percent of our health care dollars go toward prevention.11
•According to recent research, investments such as the Prevention and Public Health Fund have the potential to
improve health outcomes and reduce costs. For example, every 10 percent increase in funding for community-based
public health programs is estimated to reduce deaths due to preventable causes by 1 to 7 percent, and a $2.9 billion
investment in community-based disease prevention programs was estimated to save $16.5 billion annually within five
years (in 2004 dollars).12
•CDC estimates that 1,144,500 people ages 13 and older are living with HIV infection, including 180,900, or 15.8
percent, who are unaware of their infection. Over the past decade, the number of people living with HIV has
increased, while the annual number of new HIV infections has remained relatively stable. Still, the pace of new
infections continues at far too high a level— particularly among certain groups.13
•Average medical expenses are more than twice as high for a person with diabetes as they are for a person without
diabetes. In 2007, the estimated cost of diabetes in the United States was $174 billion. That amount included $116
billion in direct medical care costs and $58 billion in indirect costs from disability, productivity loss and premature
death.14
•More than half of all cancer deaths could be prevented by making healthy choices such as not smoking, staying at a
healthy weight, eating right, keeping active and getting recommended screening tests.15
•Among adults who smoke, 68 percent began smoking regularly at age 18 or younger, and 85 percent started when
they were 21 or younger. The average age of daily smoking initiation for new smokers in 2008 was 20.1 years among
those ages 12-49.16
•People who begin smoking at an early age are more likely to develop a severe addiction to nicotine than those who
start at a later age. Of adolescents who have smoked at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetimes, most report that they
would like to quit, but are not able to do so. 17
11
Public Health and Prevention Fund Fact Sheet, APHA, http://www.apha.org/advocacy/Health+Reform/PH+Fund/
12
Public Health and Prevention Fund Fact Sheet, APHA, http://www.apha.org/NR/rdonlyres/3060CA48-35E3-4F57-B1A5-CA1C1102090C/0/APHA_PPHF_factsheet_May2013.pdf
13
HIV in the United States: At A Glance, CDC, http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/statistics/basics/ataglance.html
14
Diabetes Report Card 2012: National and State Profile of Diabetes and Its Complications CDC, http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/reportcard/diabetes-overview.htm
15
American Cancer Society, http://www.cancer.org/healthy/index
16
American Lung Association, Stop Smoking http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/about-smoking/facts-figures/children-teens-and-tobacco.html
17
American Lung Association, Stop Smoking, http://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/about-smoking/facts-figures/children-teens-and-tobacco.html
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014 • www.nphw.org 7
Public Health: Start Here
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014
Get Out Ahead, continued
Start Here:
•Inquire about volunteer opportunities at community health centers and with state public health associations.
•Take part in national health observances, such as National HIV Testing Day, National Youth Violence Prevention
Week and National Minority Health Month. APHA will partner with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration in May 2014 for National Prevention Week. Share this information with your community
so they can participate in events and learn more about prevention and treatment.
•Diabetes prevention is as basic as eating more healthfully and becoming more physically active. Making simple
lifestyle changes may help you avoid the serious health complications of diabetes down the road, such as nerve,
kidney and heart damage. Consider the latest diabetes prevention tips from the American Diabetes Association,
www.mayoclinic.com/health/diabetes-prevention/DA00127
•Reach out to clinical partners and engage them in community health and prevention efforts.
•Learn about cancer screening guidelines and make sure you, your family, and community are aware of them.
Schedule your screenings in advance and visit the American Cancer Society’s website for more information.
•Set up local support groups to help community members quit smoking. Provide them with up-to-date
resources and information to guide them through the difficult transition. Share the national lung health hot line
1-800-LUNGUSA and/or national quit lines 1-800-QUIT-NOW to help the community locate local support
resources.
•Visit schools to educate students on the health risks of smoking. Enlist teachers and school administrators to help
spread the word and cut down on the number of young adults who begin smoking.
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014 • www.nphw.org 8
Public Health: Start Here
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014
ThursDAY, april 10
Eat Well
The system that keeps our nation’s food safe and healthy is complex. There is a lot of information to parse in order to
understand food labels and to learn the best practices during a food borne illness outbreak. Public health professionals
can help guide people through their choices.
Did you know?
•The Affordable Care Act extends to food safety and information with new requirements for food labeling. Under
the new law, restaurants are required to list the number of calories in each standard menu item, must put the caloric
content in context, additional nutritional information must be made available to consumers and the number of
calories per serving must be visible on self-service foods.18
•The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010, released on Jan. 31, 2011, emphasizes three major goals for Americans:
Balance calories with physical activity to manage weight, consume more of certain foods and nutrients such as fruits,
vegetables, whole grains, fat-free and low-fat dairy products, and seafood, and consume fewer foods with sodium,
saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, added sugars and refined grains.19
•The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion is working
with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other government agencies to revise the dietary guidelines for release
in 2015.
•In total, we are now eating 31 percent more calories than we were 40 years ago — including 56 percent more fats
and oils and 14 percent more sugars and sweeteners. The average American now eats 15 more pounds of sugar a year
than in 1970.20
•USDA led efforts to pass the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, legislation that paves the way to make real reforms
to the school lunch and breakfast programs by improving the critical nutrition and hunger safety net for nearly 32
million children who eat school lunch each day and the 12 million who eat breakfast at school.21
•Food borne contaminants cause an average of 5,000 deaths, 325,000 hospitalizations and 76 million illnesses and
cost billions of dollars annually. The five most common foodborne pathogens cost the U.S. economy more than $44
billion each year in medical costs and lost productivity. 22
Guidance for Industry: Questions and Answers Regarding the Effect of Section 4205 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 on State and Local Menu and Vending Machine
Labeling Laws, FDA http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/GuidanceDocumentsRegulatoryInformation/LabelingNutrition/ucm223408.htm
18
19
Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2010.asp
20
Let’s Move, http://www.letsmove.gov/learn-facts/epidemic-childhood-obesity
21
USDA, Food and Nutrition, http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=FOOD_NUTRITION
22
APHA Issue Brief, Creating a Safe Food System for America, 2009, http://www.apha.org/NR/rdonlyres/572F37ED-86EB-41C2-9EAE-A0E0B8011F69/0/FoodSafetyFinal.pdf
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014 • www.nphw.org 9
Public Health: Start Here
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014
Eat Well, continued
Start Here:
•Host a roundtable event with local chefs or nutrition experts to help the community better understand the meaning
of food labels. Work with community leaders to spread information on meal planning and nutritional requirements
for people of all ages.
•Ask local restaurants to provide nutrition information on their menus, as newly required by the ACA’s food labeling
law.
•Sponsor a community wide “meatless Monday” where everyone forgoes meat for one day to help individuals and
families learn how to cut back on fats and enjoy adding more fruits and vegetables into their diets. Share recipes and
snacks that are plant-based.
•Support local farmers markets and other access points to fresh fruits and vegetables. It’s not only good for your
health; it’s good for the local economy too.
•Create a local health movement! Start a healthy food co-op, organize a canning circle, gather a walking group or
form a club dedicated to volunteering.Visit www.letsmove.gov for more information and resources to encourage
healthier activities in your community.
•Work with local schools to help them educate children on healthy eating habits early. Encourage community
members to volunteer to serve healthy lunches and breakfasts to school aged kids.
•Chilling foods to proper temperatures is one of the best ways to slow the growth of bacteria. An efficient kitchen
refrigerator is the most effective tool in protecting families from food-borne illnesses. Make sure refrigerators are
kept at 40° F or below; the freezer should be at 0° F. Since few refrigerator controls show actual temperatures, using
an inexpensive freestanding appliance thermometer can monitor temperatures to make sure they’re at the right levels
for optimal food safety.
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Public Health: Start Here
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014
FriDAY, april 11
Be the Healthiest Nation in One Generation
For the first time in decades, the current generation isn’t as healthy as the one that came before. Communities need
to band together to take a stance against this disturbing trend to make sure that children and young adults have
bright, healthy futures. Public health professionals can lead the way by helping communities identify the resources and
information available to keep everyone healthy and safe.
Did you know?
•The U.S. spends far more on health care than any other country, with such costs rising tenfold from 1980 to 2010
and expected to rise faster than national income during the foreseeable future. However, investing just $10 per
person each year in proven, community-based public health efforts could save the nation more than $16 billion
within five years. 23
•By 2020, the direct benefits of the federal Clean Air Act will have reached almost $2 trillion, much more than the
$65 billion it will have cost to implement the law. About 85 percent of the $2 trillion is attributable to decreases in
premature death and illness related to air pollution.24
•Twenty-three to one: That’s the rate of the return on investment in clean water technologies in the first half of the
20th century.25
•Widening access to care by investing in expanded Medicaid eligibility, which is encouraged and funded via the
Affordable Care Act, results in better health outcomes and reductions in mortality, especially among communities
already struggling with health problems.26
•The Health Care Innovation Awards are funding up to $1 billion in awards to organizations that implement the
most compelling new ideas to deliver better health, improved care and lower costs to people enrolled in Medicare,
Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, particularly those with the highest health care needs.27
23
Levi, J. et al, Prevention for a Healthier America: Investments in Disease Prevention Yield Significant Savings, Stronger Communities. Trust for America’s Health. Feb. 2009.
10 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Benefits and Costs of the Clean Air Act from 1990 to 2020. March 2011.
24
11 Cutler D, Miller G. The role of public health improvements in health advances: The 20th Century United States, 2004. National Bureau of Economic Research.
25
12 Sommers B, Baicker K, Epstein A. Mortality and Access to Care Among Adults After State Medicaid Expansions. New England Journal of Medicine 2012; 367 (11), 1025-1034.
26
27
Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, http://innovation.cms.gov/initiatives/Health-Care-Innovation-Awards/
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014 • www.nphw.org 11
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National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014
Be the Healthiest Nation in One Generation, continued
Start Here:
•APHA promotes “Health in All Policies: A Guide for State and Local Governments.” The guide was created by the
American Public Health Association, Public Health Institute and the California Department of Public Health in
response to growing interest in using collaborative approaches to improve population health by embedding health
considerations into decision-making processes across a broad array of sectors. Share these details and policies with
local public health professionals.
•There are numerous ways that the Affordable Care Act will benefit specific populations such as children and parents,
childless adults, the elderly, women, low-income individuals and families, LGBT individuals and families, racial
and ethnic minorities and others. The ACA will also benefit small businesses, health care providers, and states.Visit
APHA’s website for consumer education resources on the ACA.
•Visit HealthCare.gov to learn more about newly available options for health care and enroll in coverage provided
under the Affordable Care Act.
Promote educational webinars hosted by national organizations such as APHA, CDC, or the Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services with your community so that they know where to go for the most up-to-date information on
policy changes that impact public health. Host an after-party to help answer any additional questions.
Partner with a local university’s public health department to help educate the community on public health options
available to them. Learn about innovative project taking place at these institutions and how they could impact your
community.
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Public Health: Start Here
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014
Talking Points
NPHW 2014: Why Is It Important?
Good personal health is connected to good public health. Each individual has an impact on the health of the nation.
The public health system that keeps our communities healthy and safe is not only expansive, it is also evolving.
With more choices available than ever before, our communities have more opportunities to achieve and maintain good
health. But this wide variety of health choices can also be overwhelming. More than ever, public health and clinical
health professionals must join forces to help communities navigate the changing system and it begins by showing them
where to start.
National Public Health Week 2014 provides the perfect opportunity to show communities how to take the first steps
toward achieving good personal health and learning how public health affects their lives. Most people don’t realize the
connection between personal and public health, and through NPHW 2014 activities, public health professionals are
given the chance to engage with the community to explain how personal and public health are connected.
The most significant change to the public health system for 2014 is the enactment of certain provisions of the
Affordable Care Act. Since the ACA passed in 2010, APHA has been at the forefront of promoting and protecting
the critical public health provisions contained in the law through congressional engagement and policy analysis
and reporting. Now that provisions of the law have gone into effect, it’s time to take our work from the courts and
conference rooms to the general public to spread the word about what the ACA means for them.
Implementation of the ACA has experienced a few setbacks in recent months but it continues to move forward to
expand access to affordable health coverage. Public health professionals now have a responsibility to help people
and communities understand the facts, the ACA and guide them through the available resources. NPHW 2014 is an
opportune time to interact with your community, share information, help debunk any perpetual myths or fallacies, and
show community members how best to take advantage of the public health options made newly available by the ACA.
This NPHW, help us make public health visible and accessible by showing your communities how to navigate the
evolving system. Help us spread the word that investing in public health is an investment in our nation’s health and by
extension, our future.
During your NPHW events, talk to your communities about what public health does and work to
collect the stories that illustrate the difference public health has made in people’s lives. We need to help
make public health accessible to everyone in order to achieve our goal of achieving the healthiest nation in one
generation.
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Public Health: Start Here
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014
Start Here: What the ACA Means to Public Health
For most Americans, the Affordable Care Act means increased access to health coverage, better coverage and lower
costs. The ACA will also have a significant impact on the world of public health. Here’s what the ACA means for
public health.
The Affordable Care Act includes:
•Prevention & Public Health Fund: Funding for state and local prevention efforts that will bolster
public health capacity and prevention research and tracking.
•Funding for community-level efforts that will help address preventable chronic conditions.
•Public education campaigns: Funding for large-scale outreach activities focused on nutrition and
exercise, tobacco cessation, oral health and more.
•Community health needs assessments: Requires tax-exempt hospitals to assess and address
community needs and include public health stakeholders in the process.
•Nutritional labeling requirements: Requires chain restaurants and vending machines must to display
nutritional information.
The ACA is an important and complex update to the public health system. It also provides an opportunity for public
health professionals to engage with communities to help them understand how the ACA will affect them and to
guide them through the Health Insurance Marketplace. As one of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’
Champions for Coverage, APHA is joining the all-hands-on-deck effort to educate consumers about the effects of the
policy update with specific focus on the new benefits, options and responsibilities.
Many public health and clinical health practitioners play an important role in this consumer education effort, which
can range from providing enrollment assistance to directing people to the marketplace website and call center. Help
your communities navigate the updates related to the enactment of certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act by
showing them where to start.
Up-to-date information about the ACA, including these programs as well as enrollment and implementation
information can be found at: www.apha.org/advocacy/Health+Reform and www.healthcare.gov.
The Affordable Care Act Quick Facts:
•Since September 2010, approximately 3.1 million young adults have gained coverage through the provision of the
Affordable Care Act that enables children up to the age of 26 to stay on their parents’ health insurance plans.
•Nearly 1 million Americans die every year from preventable diseases. Chronic, preventable illnesses, such as heart
disease and diabetes, account for 75 percent of U.S. health care spending, or $1.5 trillion per year.Yet only 3 percent
of our health care dollars go toward preventing disease.28 The ACA now holds provisions that provide Americans
with access to free prevention services. Insurers are now required to cover a number of recommended preventive
services, such as cancer, diabetes and blood pressure screenings, without additional cost sharing such as copays
APHA. The Prevention and Public Health Fund: A critical investment in our nation’s physical and fiscal health. June 2012. Available at: www.apha.org/advocacy/reports/reports
28
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Public Health: Start Here
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014
or deductibles. Already, 54 million Americans with private health coverage have gotten better preventive services
coverage as a result.
• Under the health care law, insurers can no longer impose lifetime dollar limits on essential health benefits, and
annual limits are being phased out by 2014. More than 105 million Americans no longer have lifetime limits thanks
to the new law.
The ACA also created the Prevention and Public Health Fund as the nation’s first mandatory funding stream dedicated
to improving our nation’s public health. Prevention fund dollars are being used in a variety of ways, including
supporting the work of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
• Community prevention: Funds are being used to enhance community-based preventive health
programs at the local level, including tobacco cessation, obesity prevention and disease-specific
efforts.
•Clinical prevention: Funds are being used to expand awareness of clinical preventive services and
benefits.
•Public health infrastructure and training: Funds are being used to bolster public health
infrastructure at the state and local level, increase training capacity for the health care workforce,
and expand public health officials’ ability to prevent and respond to infectious disease outbreaks.
•Research and tracking: Funds are being used to increase and expand data collection on public
health services nationwide.
What Is Our Priority?
The Affordable Care Act won’t solve all of our country’s health problems overnight, but it is an important step toward
improving the health and wellness of our communities and ultimately the nation. By making health coverage more
affordable, funding community-based public health and prevention programs, and supporting research and tracking
on key health measures, the ACA will begin to reduce disparities, improve access to preventive care, improve health
outcomes and reduce the nation’s health spending. Our priority for NPHW 2014 is to help explain these updates to
public health professionals and enable them to guide communities through the changing health system.
This year, we’re focusing on raising awareness about the evolution of public health and the importance of prevention.
Poor health comes at a price to individuals as well as communities. The first step in achieving better health is to
understand the options available and where to start. Public health and clinical health professionals play a crucial role in
moving the country forward toward better public health. NPHW 2014 creates an opportunity for the public health
workforce to engage directly with communities and individuals to guide them through the first steps. Connect with
official NPHW social media and use your own social media accounts to help spread the word to your family, friends,
neighbors, co-workers, local leaders, and state and congressional representatives: Public Health: Start Here.
National Public Health Week • April 7–13, 2014 • www.nphw.org 15