National Public Health Week, April 6–12, 2009

Public health advances have dramatically improved Americans' health and life expectancy, but our nation's health falls far short of its potential. National Public Health Week 2009—Building the Foundation for a Healthy America— stresses that a strong public health system is critical to successful health reform.

Thanks largely to advances in public health–the control of infectious diseases, improved motor-vehicle safety, safer workplaces, healthier mothers and babies, reductions in tobacco use, and other successes–the health and life expectancy of Americans have improved dramatically over the past century. Still, although the United States spends a greater proportion of its gross domestic product on health care (about 16%) than any other country, our health status lags behind that of many nations of the world.

To call attention to the critical role of public health in efforts to improve the U.S. health system, the American Public Health Association (APHA) is launching a new campaign that will serve as the theme for National Public Health Week (NPHW), April 6–12, 2009: Building the Foundation for a Healthy America.

APHA's more than 200 national, state, county, and local NPHW partners–including CDC–are collecting personal stories and conducting outreach events throughout the week to show how public health touches people where they live, work, play, and pray:

• Monday – Your Nation
• Tuesday – Your Community
• Wednesday – Your Workplace
• Thursday – Your Schools
• Friday – Your Home

For more information about this year's NPHW campaign, visit www.nphw.org.

To contribute your stories of public health in action, visit NPHW Personal Stories.