Why Public Health Is More Important Now Than Ever
Public health is a cornerstone of societal well-being, and its importance and relevance have become increasingly clear in the context of recent global events. From preventing diseases and pandemics to addressing health disparities, public health plays an indispensable role in protecting our community.
Together with Jonathon Gass, MPH, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Public Health & Community Medicine, we explore the growing imperative of public health and discuss the significant challenges and opportunities ahead:
- The Amplifying Importance of Public Health
- Investment in Public Health Is a Necessity
- The Value of a Public Health Degree
- Tufts MPH Program Advantages
- Take Action: Embrace the Importance of Public Health at Tufts
The Amplifying Importance of Public Health
Why do you believe public health is particularly critical right now?
Gass: Public health is more important now than ever for three reasons. First, currently, we're navigating interconnected global risks such as pandemics, infectious disease outbreaks, climate change, and antimicrobial resistance. These complex problems require a resolute and sound scientific and public health approach.
Second, public health faces threats like insufficient funding and politicization, making advocacy and informed leadership even more essential.
Third, it all comes down to the widening health disparities between populations that have access to good healthcare and populations that don't.
As an infectious disease researcher, I am particularly passionate about improving health equity to enhance the population’s well-being. Many infectious diseases are diseases of poverty. So public health is very much a discipline that is not just meant to uphold the standard of health that is equitable for all but also to create conditions whereby individuals, families, and societies can pull themselves out of poverty for the betterment of life and humanity.
How has COVID-19 reshaped people’s awareness of public health?
Gass: COVID-19 is probably the most stark example of a global scourge that physically and emotionally affected almost every single person on the planet. It highlighted the vulnerabilities in our public health infrastructure.
People have become familiar with concepts like epidemiology, vaccination utility, and contact tracing. Hopefully, we can apply some of the lessons that we collectively learned during COVID-19 to future pandemics, which are likely to become more frequent due to environmental changes.
Why might pandemics become more frequent?
Gass: We're living in an era called the Anthropocene, characterized by significant human impact on planetary ecosystems. That means we have altered the landscapes across the earth for the betterment of human life. However, it also involves cutting down native forest lands and other wild spaces where many animals are the reservoir hosts for zoonotic viruses.
Altered landscapes bring humans closer to wildlife reservoirs of zoonotic viruses, leading to frequent disease spillovers. Viruses that circulate naturally in a species of wildlife can jump into human populations, creating epidemics, outbreaks, and potentially pandemics.
Climate change further exacerbates this by creating new environments conducive to the survival and spread of pathogens.
Investment in Public Health Is a Necessity
Apart from pandemics, what other public health threats are emerging?
Gass: Several major issues are emerging, including antimicrobial resistance, climate-driven disease emergence, health misinformation, and widening health disparities.
Antimicrobial resistance is becoming a worldwide problem because certain bacteria can now evade antibiotics. That means that in the very near future, some common infections may be untreatable. Climate change intensifies disease conditions, and misinformation increasingly undermines public trust in health interventions. Addressing these challenges requires technical knowledge and soft skills, both of which we emphasize in the Tufts MPH program.
Why do we need to strengthen our public health infrastructure?
Gass: The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the gaps and weaknesses in our healthcare system. Not all populations experienced the pandemic equally; communities with poverty, inadequate housing, or limited access to healthcare faced worse outcomes. Proactive investment in public health infrastructure can prevent these inequities from intensifying and help safeguard against future health crises.
How can addressing health equity and social determinants underscore the importance of public health?
Gass: Social determinants of health, such as housing, education, income, and systemic racism, are foundational to public health. Because public health exists across many different sectors of society, addressing these factors improves not only individual lives but also community-level resilience. Effective public health interventions acknowledge these complexities and work holistically to strengthen communities against future threats.
What do you think about the rising shortage of public health professionals?
Gass: Public health is in crisis right now because there is a significant shortage in the field. Many public health professionals were really burned out during COVID-19 and perhaps switched careers or left the workforce. Inadequate funding also led to the labor shortage due to the lack of long-term job security. The historical undervaluation of prevention-focused efforts poses another challenge to the workforce.
Explore ways to lead public health with adaptability and resilience.
The Value of a Public Health Degree
Are there essential public health skills that people underestimate?
Gass: While technical skills like epidemiology and biostatistics are critical, soft skills such as cross-cultural communication, humility, and interdisciplinary collaboration are often underestimated yet vital. These skills help public health professionals build trust and effectively address complex challenges like misinformation and climate adaptation.
Why is an MPH degree increasingly valuable in today's landscape?
Gass: The Tufts MPH program provides critical technical skills and a systems-level understanding necessary for careers across government, NGOs, technology sectors, and policy-making. Despite challenges like funding and misinformation, the need for public health will persist. Given today's job market, but also looking into the future, the demand for competent and compassionate public health leaders will only continue to grow as public health threats increase. So investing in a public health degree remains valuable.
Discover different sectors MPH graduates work in.
Tufts Master of Public Health Advantages
How does the Tufts MPH uniquely prepare graduates for evolving public health challenges?
Gass: Tufts offers robust interdisciplinary training, combining classroom learning and hands-on internships. With small class sizes, students receive personalized mentorship. We emphasize social justice and health equity and offer specializations in Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Global Health Science & Practice, Health Management & Policy, Nutrition, and Population Health Promotion. Students can also design their own path if they have a unique passion. The flexible yet rigorous Master of Public Health curriculum ensures students excel in diverse public health careers internationally and domestically.
How do Tufts public health professionals navigate recent health crises?
Gass: Tufts professionals have significantly contributed through outbreak investigations, COVID-19 response activities, equitable healthcare system designs, and addressing structural racism. Personally, I've been involved in international projects like USAID’s Stop Spillover Project, developing interventions to reduce risks of zoonotic diseases through community engagement and scientific research. I also lead a continued project in Ethiopia. It is focused on health security, researching zoonotic disease threats, and designing programming to train the next public health workforce to address infectious diseases using the One Health approach.
What future opportunities and challenges will public health professionals face?
Gass: Future challenges include climate adaptation, global biosecurity, rising violence, migration crises, and precision public health initiatives. Professionals will also need to combat misinformation and maintain community trust. Tufts MPH graduates, equipped with creativity and interdisciplinary skills, will be ready to navigate this dynamic landscape effectively.
Learn how to navigate the future of public health.
Take Action: Embrace the Importance of Public Health at Tufts
Ready to make a difference in addressing global health challenges? Take your first step by applying to Tufts University’s Master of Public Health program. Study online or on campus, and complete your degree in as little as 12 months with valuable real-world experience.