In 1995, former President William Jefferson Clinton proclaimed the first full week of April as National Public Health Week. Americans have carried on this tradition each year by bring public health awareness to communities across the 50 states.
The American Public Health Association (APHA) serves as the lead organizer of National Public Health Week. They take pride in educating kids, young adults, parents, and the elderly about the importance of public health. Each year, nearly 50,000 members of APHA and hundreds of organizational partners educate the public, policymakers, and practitioners.
The 2011 National Public Health Week slogan is "Safety is No Accident." Approximately 30 million Americans seek emergency care each year due to serious injuries. According to the APHA website, "It only takes a moment for an injury to happen – a fall on a stair, a moment’s glance away from the road, a biking or sports-related injury, a medication mix-up. But it also takes just a moment to protect against injuries and make communities safer."
While not all injuries are preventable, many of them are. Prevention and precaution are important factors in public health safety—wear your seat beat, properly install and use a car seat, store cleaning supplies in a locked cabinet, keep medications out of reach of children, and keep a first aid kit handy.
Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is backing this year’s theme by scheduling public health events on campus to raise awareness. Today’s program "Perspectives on Public Health and Safety" is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Public Health Training Center. Event speakers will discuss safety issues within a public health framework:
Steven Albert, PhD—Falling and the Elderly
Jennifer Taylor, PhD—Fire Safety
Claudine Cooper MS—Food Safety
Sandra Bloom, MD—Looking Beyond Physical Safety
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