{"id":11115,"date":"2023-06-23T09:57:22","date_gmt":"2023-06-23T13:57:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/?p=11115"},"modified":"2024-12-13T16:48:29","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T21:48:29","slug":"examples-of-public-health-policies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodwin.edu\/enews\/examples-of-public-health-policies\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Examples of Public Health Policies (that YOU Can Influence)"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is extraordinary to be living at this time in history when \u201cpublic health\u201d is in the lexicon of everyday language.\u202fBarbers<\/a> were considered to be fair surgeons and dentists\u202fand acted as the first physicians until the advent of hospitals.\u202fFlush toilets<\/a> were not introduced to homes until the 1880s at the earliest, and it wasn\u2019t until the turn of the 20th century that there was a\u202fvaccine for the plague<\/a>\u202f(which had previously killed\u202fover a third of Europe\u2019s population, or 25 million people<\/a>). History was no doubt a dangerous and messy place. Today, no matter your culture, continent, economic status, or even your personal and professional interests, public health is something you are aware of, sometimes painfully so. The impacts of the COVID-19 global public health disaster have not been forgotten, but a bright spot is that from caring and passion, comes action. It\u2019s inspiring to see how public health policy saves lives, and we\u2019ve all witnessed it in our lifetime. Masking, social distancing, vaccinations, and travel bans, are all examples of public health policies enforced and encouraged by governments worldwide that allowed the pandemic to cease its relentless impacts on our society. If you\u2019re considering becoming a public health professional and would like to work on policy, these examples of public health policies you can be part of will surely convince you to jump right in.<\/p>\n

Affordable Healthcare<\/h2>\n

In March 2010, Congress signed into law a comprehensive healthcare reform called the\u202fAffordable Care Act<\/a>. The purpose of the ACA was to make insurance available to people previously unable to meet the financial demands of an insurance policy\u2014for example, people at or below the\u202ffederal poverty level<\/a>. The Medicaid program was expanded in many states and innovations at the marketplace level were made to lower healthcare costs.\u202f20 million Americans<\/a>\u202fgained healthcare coverage, which is nothing short of a revolution. Over a decade later, the delivery of affordable healthcare in the United States is still an intense issue for lawmakers, healthcare providers, activists, insurance planners, and healthcare policy researchers and writers. Healthcare is an enormous cost to the United States Federal Government, as well as to American individuals. The fate of the ACA is often left in the hands of political leadership when\u202fbudget crises emerge<\/a>. There is much work to be done to retain protections for people with pre-existing health conditions, people with disabilities, children, prescription drug recipients, opioid treatment recipients, and mental health care patients. Public health policy professionals can find dynamic work on affordable healthcare delivery policies at the local, state, and federal levels.<\/p>\n

Sanitation<\/h2>\n

In the United States today, it\u2019s easy to go about your business, and with the jiggle of your wrist on a metal handle, forget about it. Waste wasn\u2019t always so out of sight and mind! In many countries, lack of sanitation is still a\u202fhuman rights<\/a>\u202fviolation. Proper sanitation management systems, meaning the handling of wastewater, garbage, and drinking water, are a harbinger of a country\u2019s prosperity, directly impacting the health and economic mobility of citizens. The\u202fUnited Nations endeavors to meet world sanitation and hygiene targets<\/a>\u202fsuch as eliminating open defecation by 2030, but there are still\u202f2 billion people<\/a>\u202fwho lack access to safe drinking water at home. Sanitation reform takes government leadership, partnered with engineers, and health researchers, not to mention enormous funding sources.<\/p>\n

There are a multitude of examples of public health policies and ways to contribute to the maintenance and improvement of the sanitation sector in the US, as a leader in public health. For example, these areas will continue to require attention:<\/p>\n