Celebrating public health across the nation and at Wright State University

April 4-10, 2022, is National Public Health Week. The American Public Health Association uses this weeklong event as a way to educate the public, policymakers and practitioners on the importance of public health. It is also a way to highlight issues of importance in improving the public’s health and to recognize and thank those in public health for their contributions.

The role of public health includes promoting and protecting the health of our communities, tracking disease outbreaks, advocating for laws to protect health, promoting wellness and providing science-based solutions to health-related problems. Some fields in public health include public health medical providers, epidemiologists, first responders, social workers and restaurant inspectors.

The theme of National Public Health Week 2022 is “Public Health is Where You Are.” Where people live impacts their communities’ health, and everyone can contribute to making communities healthier, stronger and safer.

Each day of the week will also have its own theme, an area of importance in creating a healthier nation. The daily themes include racism, the public health workforce, community collaboration and resilience, world health, accessibility and health equity, climate change and mental illness.

National Public Health Week is also an opportunity for the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine to promote the importance of public health, the Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) program, and the impact alumni have made and continue to make on the health and welfare of people in the Dayton area and beyond.

Wright State’s M.P.H. program is recognized as the first in southwest Ohio and the only accredited public health program in the Dayton area. It is housed within the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, which also offers educational, leadership and graduate certificate programs in such areas as health care management, public health leadership, aerospace medicine, epidemiology, emergency public health and global health.

The Boonshoft School of Medicine M.P.H. program will celebrate National Public Health Week with the following planned activities:

• April 4: Interprofessional Training Session: Boonshoft School of Medicine M.P.H. students, along with students from graduate-level programs representing other universities, will work together on a simulation exercise. Students will assume the role of a multidisciplinary incident command team responding to an infectious disease outbreak. This event is coordinated by Sara Paton, Ph.D., director of the M.P.H. program, and Sheri Gladish, M.D., clinical assistant professor.
• April 7: “World Health Day — Health is a Human Right” event: M.P.H. staff will be in the Wright State Student Union from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to promote public health programs at Wright State and answer questions about career opportunities in the field of public health. Students are invited to join M.P.H. program staff for games, raffle prizes and refreshments.

In addition to the planned events, Ohio public health employees are encouraged to apply for the Boonshoft Public Health Workforce Scholarship.

This competitive scholarship is equal to 50% of in-state graduate tuition and is open to applicants who are employed full-time, for at least one year, with an Ohio public health department. Applicants are encouraged to apply in collaboration with their organization by submitting at least one letter of recommendation from a supervisor in the health department.

For more details and information on Wright State’s National Public Health Week activities, follow the Boonshoft School of Medicine’s Master of Public Health program on Facebook at WrightStateMPH and on Instagram at wrightstate_publichealth.

Master of Public Health alumni are encouraged to share photos of their events with Camille Edwards, public health workforce and community engagement director for the M.P.H. program, at camille.edwards@wright.edu.