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Articles by Eric Coles
Where Did U.S. Public Health Go Wrong? Original
I chose a career in public health because of its power to improve lives, as the field did in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by controlling infectious diseases such as cholera and tuberculosis. I was fortunate to begin my career as a program analyst at the National Institutes of Health working to streamline funding allocation decisions.
Bringing the public back to public health
Written by Eric Coles Read Time 5 min The 2024 election was in part a rebuke of public health. Just under 50 percent of voters chose a presidential campaign that centered resistance to public health efforts, setting up federal leaders for the next four years who have willfully ignored scientific advice, belittled experts, and ominously promised to “clean up the public health agencies.” As a public health professional, I am baffled by the vitriol.
A public health officer on the reality of principles vs. practice
For the last four years, I have served as the public health officer for the Tule River Indian Reservation in central California. In this role, I have sought advice from several public health maxims: center equity so my work never loses sight of the most marginalized; listen to the community so my decisions reflect the public’s preferences; and follow the science so my efforts are effective, trustworthy, and dependable. Though laudable, in my experience these maxims have rarely aligned.
Public health history has many mistakes. We can learn from them.
In March 2021, I helped organize a mass COVID vaccination day on the Tule River Indian Reservation in Central California. The tribe’s concert venue was the only building with enough indoor space, but where would our equipment go? How would patients flow through the interior? And what information would convince the community to come?
Public Health Departments Must Be Center of US SDoH Strategy
A few weeks ago, I was thrilled to see the White House draw attention to social determinants of health (SDoH) in their new report The US Playbook to Address Social Determinants of Health, written by experts in the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Every day, I see the harm of social factors on health while working in a tribal public health department. I hoped the White House would use the report to outline plans to support public health departments like mine.
Growing the Grassroots Power of Public Health
Is lobbying part of your job description? Are you tasked with contacting your member of Congress in support of a bill? Or holding a briefing meeting with congressional staff? As public health professionals, we rarely see these tasks prioritized in our field. Yet, we believe that public health needs more lobbying — for our workforce, our departments, our schools, and our futures.
Public Health Needs Stronger Lobbying
The past two years have been replete with calls for more funding in the US public health system from editorial boards, national news organizations, think tanks, op-eds and business news to academic articles. Unfortunately, there has been little impact. Despite more than a million Americans dead and counting, permanent change appears unlikely in the near future. But this is not the first time that the lack of funding in public health has been observed.
Learning Leadership - A Key Component of Public Health Education
I started my Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) program reluctantly with a course on leadership in the summer of 2017. As I sat in the opening lecture, I was impatient to get to the quantitative classes, like biostatistics, epidemiology, and demography. I believed, at the time, that developing my technical and research skills were all I needed to advance my public health career. Leadership training was not part of my plans. Just a year and a half after graduating, I know now that I was completely wrong.
California should require that its state health officer have a public health background
Nurse Katherine Ambrose, of the Sacramento Medical Reserve Corps, prepares a COVID-19 Moderna vaccine at a drive-thru Sacramento County Public Health clinic at Cal Expo on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. Renée C. Byer rbyer@sacbee.com You wake up late and have to speed off to work when you see that dreadful amber warning light. Your brakes need a tune-up. When you take it to the shop, the only mechanic available has only trained on airplane brakes. Car brakes are new to her. Would you have her take a look?
The Harvard Crimson
This Saturday, you could go apple-picking, enjoy the last days of the fall foliage, catch some art at the Museum of Fine Arts, or binge something on Netflix. But, please, I urge you, don’t watch the Harvard-Yale football game. I’m not saying this as someone who doesn’t appreciate football. I used to be a huge fan and I know how much fun it is. Throughout much of my life, each autumn brought the same pattern—college football on Saturday and the National Football League every Sunday.
How Public Health Leaders Can Help Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is devastated. The public health system is eviscerated. Major assistance from the federal government will be provided, in addition to a few rolls of paper towels. When serious conversations of the relief package are discussed, public health leaders must advocate for the right policy changes, in addition to relief, so that the health system is stabilized.
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