Why Public Health, Culture, and Society Matter to Me

Often misunderstood or looked past, public health is the historian and storyteller behind our lives. It documents the neighborhoods we live in, the traditions we uphold, and the societies we build – all of which collaborate to choreograph whether our personal and collective stories flourish or falter.  Public health is not a study of science or technology or medicine as the wellness panacea but utilizes people and a people’s history as the strategy to prevent disease, improve quality of life, and ultimately prolong life.   

Seems simple enough, but it wasn’t until the pandemic that I could see the effects and truly grasp how all-encompassing this field can be, seemingly a melting pot of solutions to the problem of living a healthy life. Immediately I was hooked. Hooked on the idea that we can improve lives simply by understanding and addressing the root causes of health disparities that shape our lives and communities. Understanding the broader picture reveals why health isn't solely determined by biology but by our environment, cultural identity, societal structures, and personal appraisals.

And boy does that make the world make so much more sense! 

Our own cultures and our own society deeply influence our health, shaping how we perceive wellness, illness, and the healthcare systems that serve us, assuming these systems are accessible at all.  This everoccurring investigation reveals that the most advanced medical care does not translate into the bridging of health disparities. Health outcomes in public health are often defined as consequences of social determinants of health (SDOH): education, healthcare, environment, economic stability, and social context. These domains have the power to bridge or to widen health disparities. Institutional advantage, social affirmation, higher education, insured healthcare, health literacy, and convenience. Systemic exclusion, discrimination-based stress, unaffordability, inaccessibility, literacy, misinformation. All nonmedical factors that significantly influence health outcomes, but the latter are lived by a disproportionately large number of individuals across the globe. These social determinants vary by culture which, when backed by systematic influences, greatly determine diverse health outcomes. 

While history – from the Tuskegee Syphilis Study to contemporary misinformation during COVID-19 – has supported the surge in medical mistrust of marginalized populations, there is hope within public health to implement successful community and individual responses that are rooted in empathy, cultural competence, and a “people first” doctrine.

In this field, we are taught to ground our interventions in theory and an open mind to teach us that not everyone or everything is willing to act in healthy ways in a specific moment. We can focus our efforts on those who are ready and willing, but what we are not taught is how to address political and ideological resistance. And without tools to engage resistant groups, we are ill-equipped to foster any long-term change. Simply using evidence-based recommendations is ultimately ineffective unless we also understand the belief systems of those exhibiting denial or resistance. Worse and worse outcomes can only be addressed by implementing strategies that are psychologically, culturally, and socially responsive.

Health interventions that lack cultural awareness and neglect personal history reinforce mistrust, nonadherence, and thus health disparities. Poor experiences that undermine faith in our collective systems prove that effective public health communication can only foster resilience when incorporating trust building and cultural understanding. This field works to be a resource for those who may not have the support of a community or a safe place within society; it is an organizational driver for equity in health. Culturally informed and population tailored strategies unify communities and attack inequity at the root causes, whether that be personal or societal or systemic.  This is beautifully achieved in programs like mobile health units and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) given their approach to meeting communities where they emotionally, socially, and culturally are. By leveraging community health workers, or “promotoras”, attuned to local values and fears, these programs establish authenticity and trust that public health should always strive for. Authenticity and trust that affirms identities and ultimately promotes health equity. 

So, when you ask why public health, culture, and society matters, I encourage you to take a look away from your own being. To look towards your neighbors, your classmates, and the countless individuals you pass by every day. To those whose lives are shaped by forces beyond their control. To the systems they were born into and the barriers they must navigate every day. Public health, culture, and society will always matter because we do not live in isolation; our identities and even our health are inseparable in ways beyond our genetics. 

It matters because my grandmother will walk away from her doctor feeling respected and sure of her treatment. Because a single mother won’t have to choose between paying rent, buying groceries, or refilling her daughter’s insulin prescription. Because an immigrant won’t have to fear government services over receiving treatment. Because I believe that dignity in healthcare is not a luxury, but a right. At least that is the goal. That is the reason I live my life to be a part of a future where public health systems universally prioritize people – their culture, their society, and their self.