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What is Healthy States?
What is the purpose of the initiative?
What is public health? How is it different from health care?
Why should state officials play a role in public health programs?
What are some important public health issues?
What resources can I find on these issues?
How can I find out about state legislation on public health issues?
How can I find a state official or expert to talk to about a public health issue?
How can I contact Healthy States?
The Healthy States Initiative is sponsored by The Council of State Governments (CSG) and funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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The Council of State Governments' (CSG) Healthy States Initiative helps state policymakers make informed decisions on public health issues, by bringing together state legislators, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state health department officials, and public health experts to share information and identify innovative solutions.
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In public health, the goal is to prevent diseases or injury in a whole population--a city, state or country, for example. That's different from the goal of health care, which is to treat illness in individuals. Public health has long been involved in issues like food safety, environmental conditions, and immunizations but has more recently expanded into prevention of infectious and chronic diseases.
For example, a public health approach to cancer could involve a statewide public awareness campaign about the risk factors for cancer such as smoking or sun exposure, while a health care approach would focus on treating individuals with cancer or educating individuals on their risks for cancer.
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State government has many responsibilities within the public health arena. They are charged with the authority and responsibility for protecting the public's health. State government serves as both employer providing health benefits, and insurer of health services under Medicaid. Many states are promoting wellness and seeking to prevent disease because of the impact they can have on productivity, available workforce, health care costs and state budgets.
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If you click on Public Health Issues on the left side of this page, a list of over 20 topics will appear. Click on any topic for a Web page that contains resources and links to information, selected with state policymakers in mind. Some examples of the kinds of issues included:
- Applying research on how HIV/AIDS infections and other sexually transmitted diseases can be prevented
- Ensuring that children and at-risk adults are immunized against deadly diseases
- Preventing chronic conditions such as cancer, heart disease and asthma
- Reducing disease and disability that result from environmental factors
- Working with schools to prevent risky behavior among children, adolescents and young adults
- Building resources to detect and respond to public health threats and emergencies
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Through the Healthy States Web site, you can access many different resources on public health issues including:
- e-monthly newsletter: This free electronic newsletter brings the latest public health news, resources, reports and upcoming events straight to your inbox.
- Forums: The Healthy States Initiative often brings together public health experts, legislators and legislative staff to discuss priority public health issues. You can find out about upcoming events here and or view our archives of past forums.
- Publications: Designed to assist state legislators interested in state policy on topics such as prevention of cancer, chronic diseases, HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, as well as vaccines, health disparities and school health.
- Other Resources: You can also link to other reports on state policies and state-by-state statistics produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies.
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On our Web site you can access reports on STD, HIV and teen pregnancy prevention legislation from 2009 and 2008, as well as complete detailed reports on public health legislation introduced in 2006 and 2007. The reports provide summaries of the bills and address the status of each. We also fhighlight innovative state approaches in our Healthy States publications.
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Send us an e-mail and let us know your area of concern and we'll put you in touch with state officials and experts who have tackled similar public health issues in their own states. You can tap them for information on the legal, political, and public relations issues they faced in seeing their legislation through the process. Or, if you'd like to speak to a CSG staff person about finding a state policymaker or expert, call CSG's Health Policy Group at (859)244-8000.
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We'd love to have your feedback and input on:
- specific questions you have about public health
- innovative legislation you have sponsored
- public health issues you want to learn more about
- ways CSG can improve the resources provided by the Healthy States Initiative
To share your thoughts on these or other matters, click on Comments and Questions.
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