Three sisters walked along a river bank and saw babies in the river helpless and struggling. The first sister, distraught, jumped in and tried to rescue them. The second sister, resolute to save them, jumped in the river and tried to teach them to swim. After looking at the scene, the third sister walked away. Confused, her sisters called out to her, “Where are you going?” She answered “I am going upstream to find out why the babies are floating in the river and to stop it.” This is the essence of public health, and the source of the public health mantra – ‘working upstream.’

What is Public Health?

Public health is the science of protecting and improving the health of communities through education, promotion of healthy lifestyles, and research for disease and injury prevention. While health care systems like the Indian Health Service cater to the individual patient, public health seeks to serve whole communities.