Thirty years after expressing concerns about the translation and communication of science to the public and to policy makers, this reflection finds that the same issues face public health education perhaps even more urgently today with the advent of politicians who actively dispute science, and a public that has voted in support of their campaign…

Broad changes in normative health behavior are critical to overcoming many of the contemporary challenges to public health. Reduction in tobacco use during the last third of the 20th century--one of the greatest improvements in public health--illustrates such change. The culture change from accommodation to intolerance of smoking is irrefutable.…

This reflection is on a health education professional's rotation from professor in a school of public health to a government position and back parallels that of Professor Howard Koh's journey to Assistant Secretary of Health, one level higher in the same federal bureaucracy. We both acknowledge the steep learning curve and some bureaucratic…

This article summarizes a comprehensive, systems-oriented framework designed to improve the use of a wide variety of evidence sources to address population-wide obesity problems. The L.E.A.D. framework (for "Locate" the evidence, "Evaluate" the evidence, "Assemble" the evidence, and inform "Decisions"),…

Motor vehicle safety and tobacco control are among the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As the number of miles traveled in the United States multiplied 10 times from the 1920s to the 1990s, the annual motor vehicle crash death rate per vehicle mile traveled…

In this article, the authors offer an interpretation of the history of the "Healthy People" initiative showing that the outcomes remain largely the same, with appropriate decennial adjustment of the proliferating numerical targets and increased delineation of objectives for special populations. But the strategies by which those outcomes are to be…

In this article, human ecology is defined; its historical and intellectual roots are traced through various disciplines to its applications in public health and health promotion today; its strengths and limitations are described; some potential contributions to systems theory are suggested; and some emerging ecological models of health promotion…

The criteria most appropriate for assessing school health programs are discussed, and the need for such evaluation in the light of pressure from public opinion is emphasized. (JD)

The responsibility for community health should be shared and coordinated among schools, parents, and health agencies. Children's knowledge and skills should be developed so that they too can promote personal good health. Issues and strategies are discussed. (BJV)

PRECEDE evolved as a teaching tool and framework for planning and evaluating health education programs. PATCH (Planned Approach to Community Health) let researchers examine certain principles underlying PRECEDE, relating them to new community research. Understanding PRECEDE's limitations led to PROCEED (policy, regulatory, and organizational…