The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) supports preventive medicine physicians as they develop, practice and implement key public health practices for individuals, communities and populations
What is Public Health?
Public health, at its core, focuses on the protection and improvement of populations all over the globe through healthcare initiatives, including disease research, injury prevention, early detection and more. Preventive medicine and public health physicians also work to create health equity, focusing on systems based transformation and health practice that supports a diverse marginalized and historically excluded communities.
Addressing Public Health Determinants
When analyzing public health, preventive medicine physicians look at a variety of systemic factors that influence health at a global scale. Most of what influences our health happens outside of the doctors’ offices. Social factors, the environment around us and where we work, learn, live and more all have a strong influence on our health and wellbeing.
Social Determinants
Social determinants of health are one of the largest factors influencing the health large populations, globally. From economic status and access to quality education, to racism, classism, and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, there are a multitude of social factors and inequities, that influence our health. Some of these influences are positive, such as increased access to education, while others are negative, such as racism. Preventive medicine physicians are trained to analyze these various influences and work with patients, community leaders and policy makers to maximize beneficial social influences and reduce negative influences.
Environmental Determinants
Environmental determinants impact a population’s health, contingent upon a variety of factors, including air quality, climate, drinking water safety and even day-to-day labor. The considerable impact on the health and wellness of global populations from these environmental factors require specialized insight from both researchers and physicians in order to create actionable healthcare initiatives that address the environment.
Individual and Genetic Determinants
Genetic determinants help explain predispositions to inherited health conditions and disease risk based on genetic make-up. Preventive medicine and public health can apply principals of biostatistics and epidemiology to interpret population level genetic risk factors, or support genetic screening and early intervention for certain conditions.
Integrated, High-Value Public Health Care
There are numerous methods of supporting public health, including a variety of health services and preventive medicine measures that are taught at ACPM through education, initiatives, and advocacy. The extensive selection available through ACPM is curated to promote a variety of public health services and focus on high-quality, integrated care taught by research experts, specialized physicians, and more.
Clinical Preventive Services
In order to detect disease and illness early enough, preventive services like routine screenings, check-ups and patient counseling are vital for protecting public health. Early detection and screening reduce the risk of further downstream complications, as do lifestyle based preventive interventions and practices. This reduces the burden of preventable disease on the health system and improves the health and health care access of the population as a whole.
Public Health Management
Public health physicians enhance quality and efficiency of care delivery. Upstream, systems based approaches to care coordination, direction and planning are used to run the day to day operations of hospitals, public health departments and more. Public health physicians often employ leadership and management skills beyond clinical practice, including expertise in health care finance, to serve as executive leaders in health systems.
Join ACPM
ACPM continued to serve as the professional hub for preventive medicine and public health initiatives, providing physicians and medical professionals with the public health material, initiatives, and services they need to create a more efficient health care system.
To learn more about ACPM or to get involved, please get in touch with us and contact our team at info@acpm.org or call (202) 466-2044.