Policy Resources

Public health is comprehensive, but working on bottom levels of Thomas Frieden’s health impact pyramid (visual inspired by original version to the right) can have the biggest impact across the population, while moving to the top of the pyramid increases individual effort needed to make change.

That’s why it is so crucial that public health has a role in public policy and vice versa. Developing effective public health policies is complex, involving different levels of government, numerous stakeholders with diverse needs and interests. Many improvements in life expectancy and other key markers of healthy populations are the result of effective public health policy and public health programs. Understanding public health policy can help us accomplish our goals for public health as well as work with policy makers and decision makers more effectively.