National Public Health Week

Bringing together and connecting communities across the nation, National Public Health Week offers opportunities to address the concerns and issues related to health on a larger scale level. Celebrate the power of cultural humility, share strategies, and advocate for policies by championing the role of a strong public health system by getting connected through National Public Health Week!

History of National Public Health Week

National Public Health week has been going on for more than 25 years. The first event of its kind was celebrated in 1995 when it was founded by the American Public Health Association (APHA). The association offers a campaign to provide education to various policymakers, practitioners and the public about the theme and the issues surrounding it. Universities, medical professionals, government agencies and a variety of other organizations and individuals all get involved with celebrating this event!

Each year, the theme for National Public Health Week changes based on the needs discerned by the APHA. Some of the themes that have been focused on in the past have included:

• Centering and Celebrating Cultures in Health (2023)
• Public Health is Where You are (2022)
• Building Bridges to Better Health (2021)
• Looking Back and Moving Forward (2020)

How to Celebrate National Public Health Week

Individuals and community members can choose to observe National Public Health Week in a variety of ways. Consider some of these ideas for getting involved with this week-long event:

Attend Local Community Events

In observance of National Public Health Week, many community organizations and government agencies offer a series of events that invite local people to get involved. This might include lectures or seminars held at a university on topics related to public health, or it could be something more like a community health fair that educates as well as providing access to various resources and information to individuals and families. The week’s events might also include film screenings, symposiums, competitions and much more!

Join the APHA Challenge

The APHA wants to make it easy for individuals and communities to be involved with this important event! The Keep It Moving Challenge is one way that folks can download an app that helps them maintain movement and stay healthy. This is related to the Physical Activity Guideline for Americans and can be accessed through the National Public Health Week website.  

Take a Public Health Course

Community colleges and universities may offer a range of opportunities for individuals to take classes that allow them to learn more and grow on the topic of public health. Subjects might range from advancing health equity to environmental hazards and global public health. These courses can be used as continuing education credits for several different careers, lead to a degree in Public Health or simply create space for learning and growing personally.

Read Some Public Health Publications

One way to get involved with National Public Health Week might be to do some reading and learn some more about the various subtopics related to public health. From the American Journal of Public Health to The Nation’s Health Newspaper, there are a number of different ways to get informed and educated in celebration of this week.