Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Public Health On the Streets

Driving to work this morning, I played a game with my children called "Public Health on the Streets." It's a game I made up to teach my kids a little about public health and how it plays such an important role in our every day lives. Simply put, its a way for me to teach my kids how to be healthier. Everyone gets a turn and everyone gets to explain why what they saw is public health or prevention related. This morning in just 5 minutes we counted over 50 important public health activities here are just a few: bike helmets protecting kids and adults from head injury; sunglasses, preventing eye damage from the sun; seatbelts and carseats for little ones, preventing injury in automobile accidents; walking and running and skipping, getting exercise is essential in protecting our health; eating fruit, a healthy diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables is equally important; flu shots at a grocery store, annual vaccination against the flu prevents the spread of this highly contagious respiratory disease. And the list goes on. Do you see public health in action every day? Have you used a public health service that you would like to tell us about? Do you have a public health story to share?
Thanks!