ASPPH Academic Public Health Messaging Guide 2025
The ASPPH Academic Public Health Messaging Guide 2025 builds upon the foundation of our 2024 ASPPH Messaging Guide (PDF), offering updated strategies to communicate the value of public health,
particularly in a time where efforts to disrupt it are emerging at the local, state, and federal levels.
This guide provides members with fresh language for talking about public health in this new environment. We must remind our audiences:
What public health is and how it touches the lives of people every single day
How investing in public health is good for health and the economy
What is at risk if evidence and science are ignored, and the workforce is cut
This language can be used in speaking engagements, in social media posts, written materials and more.
Public Health Wins – Remind People What Public Health Does
Public health research has led to effective strategies for preventing and controlling diseases such as smallpox, measles, tuberculosis, West Nile Virus, diabetes, and heart disease.
The introduction of seat belt laws, airbags, speed limits, and drunk driving regulations has drastically improved road safety. In the U.S., seat belt use increased from 11% in 1981 to 81% in 2010, reducing crash-related deaths and injuries.
The implementation of tobacco control policies, including higher taxes, smoking bans, graphic warning labels, and anti-smoking campaigns, has significantly reduced smoking rates worldwide. In the US, adult smoking rates dropped from 42% in 1965 to around 12% in 2020.
Public Health Provides a Strong Return on Investment
Public health interventions improve health outcomes and save money by preventing or reducing the burden of diseases, decreasing health care costs, and increasing economic productivity. Investing in public health and prevention saves money, strengthens the economy, and protects lives.
- Investing in public health in the US pays off in both money saved and better health. Research shows that for every $1 spent on public health programs, there is a $14.30 return in health benefits.
- Preventing chronic diseases (like diabetes and heart disease) reduces long-term medical expenses, hospitalizations, and lost productivity.
- Ninety percent of the nation’s $4.5 trillion (about $14,000 per person in the US) in annual health care expenditures are for people with chronic and mental health conditions. Interventions to prevent and manage these diseases can have significant health and economic benefits.
- Moderate increases in public health spending have been linked to as much as a 7 percent decrease in mortality rates.
- Studies have found that even a $10 per capita increase in local public health spending is associated with reduced overall mortality and a greater share of the population reporting being in “good,” “very good,” or “excellent” health.
- A well-funded public health system ensures readiness for bioterrorism threats, pandemics, and climate-related health crises. Weak public health infrastructure leaves the nation vulnerable to both natural and man-made health emergencies.
- Reductions in low birth weight, foodborne illnesses, rates of sexually transmitted diseases, and more have been linked directly to spending on public health interventions.
- A healthier workforce means fewer sick days, higher productivity, and a stronger economy. Public health efforts improve employee well-being, reducing healthcare costs for businesses and governments.
- Early investments in disease surveillance, emergency preparedness, and vaccinations prevent costly outbreaks and pandemics.
- Public health initiatives reduce emergency room visits, hospital stays, and the burden on healthcare providers. Community health programs addressing mental health, nutrition, and substance misuse lower long-term healthcare expenses.
- Investments in public health research drive medical advancements, improving healthcare outcomes and fueling economic growth.
Public Health and Safety Are at Risk
Our nation faces complex health challenges, from a chronic disease epidemic, to pandemics, to the opioid crisis. Public health ensures everyone has a fair chance to be healthy and safe, yet there are proposals to cut federal programs that offer these protections. Now is the time to strengthen, not weaken, our commitment to public health.
This is not about politics—it is about ensuring every person can lead a healthy life.
A strong public health workforce is essential. We are committed to training future leaders, promoting the field, diversifying the workforce, and advocating for fair pay and student debt relief. Investing in public health professionals today protects all communities for generations to come.
Evidence-based solutions require reliable data. Blocking access to data undermines lifesaving research, weakens disease prevention, and limits experts’ ability to provide accurate guidance at all levels.
Public health depends on frontline professionals in federal, state, and local agencies. Cutting funding leaves them without the resources to do their jobs effectively.
Public health stops crises before they start—addressing chronic diseases, preventing pandemics, and tackling root causes will reduce the financial and public health burden. Stripping resources now will only lead to more illness and higher costs later.
We do not just study public health—we practice it. By partnering with local organizations, we turn research into real solutions for healthier communities. Attacks on public health weaken these partnerships and put entire populations at risk.
The future demands expertise and preparation. Our students will fight the next pandemic, confront climate-related health threats, and address disparities. But they need a strong system to build on, not one being dismantled.
Conclusion
Investment in public health is a cost-effective way to reduce the burden of disease – saving lives and saving money. While there are always opportunities to strengthen public health efforts, cutting funding would weaken our ability to prevent and manage chronic and infectious diseases. The United States health care system has focused on treating sick patients, but it is much more effective to focus on preventing illness, so we have fewer people to treat in the first place. Decisions made today will shape our future. Science and evidence—not politics—must guide the policies that protect us all. Now is the time to invest in public health programs and research, to enable everyone to live a healthy life.
For a deeper understanding of how to effectively communicate the impact and importance of public health, explore the full version of our Messaging Guide.