VCU students partner with Richmond City Health District to promote National Public Health Week April 6 to 12

By Anne Dreyfuss and George Jones

In observance of National Public Health Week, the Richmond City Health District and students from the Master of Public Health program at Virginia Commonwealth University are working together to promote public health in the community.

“National Public Health Week not only celebrates the contributions of public health across the U.S., it also focuses on the future and draws attention to critical issues that must be addressed to improve the health of our nation,” said Resa Jones, M.P.H., Ph.D., associate professor and graduate program director, Division of Epidemiology, Department of Family Medicine and Population Health, VCU School of Medicine.

The term “public health” refers to a wide range of health issues, from disease outbreak prevention to seatbelt safety advocacy. For more on what public health means to Richmond, click here to see a video about the week’s theme that was produced by VCU students from the Master of Public Health program and the Richmond City Health District.

Events throughout the week include a screening of a film about addiction recovery on Monday and a mindfulness-based stress reduction seminar on Thursday. The week culminates with a lecture on Friday by Shiriki Kumanyika, M.P.H., Ph.D., American Public Health Association president. For more information about the week’s events, visit facebook.com/VCUGraduatePublicHealthPrograms.  

On April 8, Richmond City Health District staff members and VCU public health students will canvas downtown Richmond with “This is Public Health” stickers, tagging examples of public health in the city in an effort to build awareness of the many ways in which public health impacts community well-being. A national initiative, the sticker campaign was developed by the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health to convey the message that public health affects everyone on a daily basis.

“Public health is in the backdrop of almost every aspect of our lives, and we want to expand awareness about public health to residents of greater Richmond,” said Danny Avula, M.P.H., M.D., deputy director at the Richmond City Health District.

To get involved in the campaign, the community is invited to participate in a public health photo contest. To enter, post a photo of public health in action to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with the hashtag #thisispublichealthrva. Prizes include free memberships to Gold’s Gym, tickets to Richmond Flying Squirrels baseball games, passes to Jumpology Trampoline Park and more. Contest winners will be notified next week.