RVPHTC Blog

Welcome to our blog! Covering classic and topical public health themes, we hope you find new and interesting information through our blog posts, published weekly to keep you in the know on all things public health! 

Interested in contributing or have a topic you’d like to see? Email us at rvphtc@umich.edu.

Post Archives

Healthy Work Collaborative: a Step-by-Step Video Series

Healthy Work Collaborative: a Step-by-Step Video Series

The University of Illinois Chicago Center for Healthy Work aims to share a variety of resources to build awareness and knowledge to academics, employers, policymakers, and workers to help establish and maintain the belief that all workers deserve healthy work.The Healthy Work Collaborative Step-by-Step Videos promote collaborative approaches to advancing worker health by helping organizations:

Develop a shared understanding of precarious work and pathways to healthier work
Explore how policy, systems, and environmental changes can improve health in the context of precarious work
For support implementing any of the Healthy Work Collaborative tools within your own organizations, contact us at healthywork@uic.edu.

What can the state of Michigan tell us about the state of the public health workforce?

What can the state of Michigan tell us about the state of the public health workforce?

By JP Leider, PhD, Center for Public Health Systems, University of Minnesota School of Public Health and Laura Power, MD, MPH, Preventive Medicine Residency and Office of Public Health Practice, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Region V Public Health Training Center, Public Health Prepared   Last week was the Michigan Premier Public Health conference, held in the scenic Shanty Creek Resort in northern Michigan. Imagine fall colors on water. It beats, by a long shot,...

Compensating Community Wisdom in Public Health

Compensating Community Wisdom in Public Health

By Janine O’Donnell, MPH, Kent County Health Department    The field of public health has been chronically underfunded for decades. A persistent lack of resources hampers efforts to promote health equity, address the growing burden of chronic disease, effectively combat behavioral and mental health concerns, and proactively respond to emerging issues (Trust for America’s Health [TFAH], 2023). It’s no wonder state and local health departments rely heavily on creative, cost-saving...

Do Definitions Matter?

Do Definitions Matter?

By Sheri Johnson, Ph.D., Director, Population Health Institute, University of Wisconsin Madison School of Medicine and Public Health   Current, commonly used definitions of health equity are useful tools for public health practitioners who are responsible for engaging residents and leaders in community health improvement planning and implementation. Widely circulated definitions include important concepts that can guide analysis and spark action.    As the field evolves, it's...

Want to Reach Teenagers About Mental Health? Engage Them in the Conversation!

Want to Reach Teenagers About Mental Health? Engage Them in the Conversation!

Through the power of our BWell Saginaw partnership, which includes the Saginaw County ISD, we met the Youth Ambassadors, a unique group of high school seniors representing each one of our rural, suburban and urban school districts. They have been serving together as a cohort for three years, participating in leadership development and community service. And they have been craving opportunities to share their mental health struggles without fear of stigma or reprisal. They want to cultivate safe spaces in their schools to “chill,” turn to trained and caring adults when needed during the school day, and understand if what they are feeling is “normal.”

Avenues for Advocacy at the Local Level

Avenues for Advocacy at the Local Level

While there is no handbook to immediately redress the 400 years of oppression influencing the health of our communities as a whole and communities of color specifically, this [collaborative] model provides an avenue for public health advocacy for health departments of any size to change systems to protect the health and improve the lives of all of its residents.

It’s Racism, Not Race

It’s Racism, Not Race

By Makeda C. Porter, MSW, Columbus Public Health, Center for Public Health Innovation   According to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity, “Racial inequities are not random; they have been created and sustained over time. Inequities will not disappear on their own.” We all share responsibility for dismantling racism in our communities. Racism is at the root of inequities, not race. It is not the color of one’s skin that can make one vulnerable to poor health outcomes, but rather the...