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EDITOR'S CHOICE |
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This month, the Journal joins the American Public Health Association (APHA) in advocating "putting the public back into public health." Indeed, this is the theme of the APHA 130th Annual Meeting and Exposition, to be held November 9–13, 2002, in Philadelphia, Pa. The cover image symbolizes public advocacy for needed health reforms, and invites the reader to complete the slogan with the cause she hopes to further. For me, the banner would read, "Stop the Chain of Silence," in order to exhort us individually and collectively to speak out against all forms of violence, oppression, and exploitation that grind down people’s health and smother lives.
We have previously remarked on the power of pictures to convey meaning and shape action (Am J Public Health. 2001;91:194). In August 2001, we began featuring images on our covers, and the results were dramatic and immediate. At a glance, it is now radically evident who our public is, what we care about, and how we are working collectively to promote health and well-being in the diverse communities where we live, work, and play. Without question, our cover is an effective platform for "putting the public back into public health."
The Journal has devised other strategies for putting the public back into our pages. Perhaps our most ambitious is the department "Going Public," now edited by Gabriel Stover, our talented features editor (see Sheri Fink’s contribution on page 1734). According to the Institute of Medicine’s report The Future of Public Health (Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1988), "In a free society public activities ultimately rest on public understanding and support, not on the technical judgment of experts. Expertise is made effective only when it is combined with sufficient public support, a connection acted upon effectively by the early leaders of public health."(p130)
"Going Public" aims to reinvigorate the historical connection between broad-based support for public health activities and vital funding for programs and policies designed to advance population health. By enlisting freelance writers to report on timely public health topics in an engaging style and format, we hope to recruit new supporters who will rally around needed public health reforms and activities—and vote accordingly.
Another strategy for putting the public back into the Journal is to encourage public debate. Thus, we have revived the department "Letters to the Editor," now edited by Jennifer Ellis, our dedicated technical deputy editor. With the advent of our on-line manuscript tracking system (at http://submit.ajph.org) and on-line journal (at www.ajph.org), it is now possible for readers to respond more efficiently to issues raised in our pages and to profit from critical engagement with our authors. In the following months, expect to see increased numbers of thoughtful exchanges on diverse public health topics covered recently in the Journal.
In closing, the Journal thanks Fitzhugh Mullan and Leon Epstein for serving as guest editors for the forum on community-oriented primary care (beginning on page 1713), featuring work from locales as diverse as Israel, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and the United States. (See also the "Public Health Matters" piece by Mullan and Epstein, page 1748.) In their insightful accompanying editorial (page 1711), Theodore Brown and Elizabeth Fee, our indefatigable history editors, remind us of the deep roots and ultimate inspiration of the Karks’ original model of community-oriented primary care; that is, "palliatives will no longer do . . . we must be radical." How fitting, then, that we assemble in historic Philadelphia later this month to rededicate ourselves to the public health goals that we can collectively achieve, and to ensure that the public is centrally involved in our efforts.
Related articles in AJPH:
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