Public Health & Prevention

Public health promotes and protects the health of people and the communities where they live, learn, work and play. Prevention is defined as actions aimed at eradicating, eliminating or minimizing the impact of disease and disability.

Past Events

January 24, 2024

This event featured an analysis of potential health policy priorities at both state and federal levels for this upcoming election year, and provided a review of major legislative milestones from 2023 and their potential implications for 2024.

April 14, 2023

This panel provided a high-level overview of health care coverage programs in the United States, such as Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and employer-based insurance, as well as recent changes to coverage such as bolstering subsidies. This Session:

October 12, 2022

In the late 1980s, HIV/AIDS became a significant threat to public health, with the virus ultimately taking the lives of an estimated 2 million people at the peak of the epidemic in 2006. With effective treatments and increased awareness, new HIV diagnoses were on the decline by the mid-1990s; and today, HIV/AIDS is now considered […]

September 16, 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the pre-existing weaknesses of the U.S. public health system including areas such as communication, organization, and entrenched health disparities that continue to drive massive health inequities in various communities. To strengthen routine public health practice and better prepare for future emergencies, it is important to clarify and strengthen operational roles of […]

June 29, 2022

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for “the safety and efficacy” of biologic products and medical devices, along with other veterinary, food supply, and cosmetic products that are marketed or sold in the U.S. It carries out this authority by reviewing manufacturers’ applications to sell these items in the United States. During […]

January 14, 2022

This event was Part I of the Alliance’s Health Policy Roundup and 2022 Forecast series. The year 2021 was packed with executive, legislative, and judicial branch activities—including infrastructure bills, reconciliation packages, a Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act, as well as continued executive actions to combat COVID-19 as the U.S. enters winter and […]

November 30, 2021

The 2020 Census identified 9.7 million people as American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN), alone and in combination with another race. As upheld by the Supreme Court. the United States government has a “trust responsibility to provide services to American Indians and Alaska Native persons”. This doctrine upholds that, among other provisions, the federal government […]

November 29, 2021

Environmental health is a vast, highly interdisciplinary field within public health that focuses on the connections and interactions between people and their environment across several facets. The field extends beyond analysis of the natural environment and investigates where we live, what we eat and drink, how and where we work, and the relationships we have […]

November 17, 2021

As of January 2020, over 580,000 individuals were experiencing homelessness in America, in every state and territory. 2020 was the fourth consecutive year that rates of homelessness increased, with a 2 percent increase between 2019 and 2020 alone, and saw a growing population of people living outdoors. In August of 2021, the Supreme Court issued […]

November 9, 2021

Clinicians, hospitals, and health systems are searching for new ways to improve the oncology patient experience and promote health equity. The ongoing pandemic has complicated this push for improvement, as providers and health systems have had to change care delivery practices dramatically to protect patients from COVID-19. Furthermore, health equity has received significant attention over […]

Toolkits

Emergency Preparedness in the U.S.: The Ebola Threat

Is the U.S. prepared for a potential virulent pandemic? This toolkit examines public health infrastructure, funding and policy levers that deal with these kinds of health crises in America.

The Connection between Health and Housing: The Evidence and Policy Landscape

Evidence is growing that housing, a social determinant of health, is an important factor in the health status of various populations. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), more than 610,000 people experience homelessness in the U.S., and over 250,000 individuals within that population have a severe mental illness or a chronic […]

Sourcebook Chapters

Protecting and improving the health of communities through promotion of healthy lifestyles, research, and detection and control of infectious diseases.

Policymakers

Members of Congress, Congressional and agency staff, federal, state, and local legislators.

Health Care Stakeholders

Industry stakeholders, practitioners and providers, patient advocates, community organizations, academics.

Media

Members of the press, journalists, public relations professionals.