A Public Health Lens on COVID-19
“Most individuals rarely think about the role public health has in society until a crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, captures our attention. But public health officials work across disciplines on a daily basis to address the root causes of complex health problems and develop practical, cost-effective solutions that protect the health and improve the quality of life for all individuals.”
-- Dr. Roderick King, Senior Associate Dean of Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement, Director of the M.D./M.P.H. Program, and associate professor at the University of Miami Miller Schools of Medicine
“We are living through an incredibly unique time in history. At this moment, people across the globe are experiencing first-hand the importance of prevention and public health ---all at the same time. In the face of COVID-19, millions of lives will be saved by public health recommendations that reduce travel and community exposures.”
-- Dr. Sara St. George, Assistant Professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Department of Public Health Sciences
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“The sudden crisis of the COVID-19 global pandemic brings to light gaps in awareness about just how crucial public health research, protocols, and preventive measures are to every aspect of a functional society. The COVID-19 outbreak has sharply underscored our ongoing need for more public health professionals, and more clinicians with public health experience, who are able to raise awareness, disseminate and advance knowledge, and influence policy discussions and data-based decision-making.”
-- Dr. Cindy Munro, Dean and Professor at the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Sciences
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“One way to look at the importance of public health is to take a historical perspective. In the 1800s, practicing public health and practicing medicine were almost the same –nurses, doctors, and clinicians needed to understand the entire picture of how a person lived, including their environment, in order to determine how to treat them. Fast forward to about 100 years ago, when we placed a bet that clinicians taking care of individual patients was the best way to target health needs. Today, the distinction between public health and medicine is vast and our healthcare system is not able to take care of the population as is. It has been hard to stop the current way we operate on its tracks and turn it the opposite direction, but we may see that the disruption of COVID-19 pushes us toward the value-based care we have been needing to shift to.”
-- Dr. Jeffrey Brosco, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Associate Director, Mailman Center for Child Development, Faculty Education Development Director at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics
