National Association of Social Workers

From the President

Public Health Goal a Natural Fit

By Elvira Craig de Silva, DSW, ACSW

Growing up in a small, cold town in the region of Patagonia (Argentina), I became very much aware of the tremendous importance of public health and prevention.

My father was one of three doctors covering a vast geographical area. He was the only pediatrician for the whole state and was the director of the Public Health Center and maternal care for the town of Trelew. He was bilingual in English and Spanish and had moved to Patagonia to tend to the health needs of the indigenous people and the area's Welsh settlers.

I remember my father talking to people in the community about nutrition, hygiene, vaccinations and child development. He would make home visits to check on the progress of his patients and, while there, would teach them about other health issues. As a girl, I went with him on many of those home visits, and when I was older I helped at the Public Health Center.

My father felt that prevention was the key to good health and that it was a job for the whole family. A great diagnostician, he also believed that it was essential to find out the root of the problem, not just treat the symptoms.

As part of his prevention efforts, my father held education sessions for parents and training classes for paraprofessionals. The sessions for parents were focused on nutrition, use of vitamins, hygiene, even how to dress in the harsh cold weather of Patagonia to prevent illnesses. He also used to give talks at local schools. The classes for paraprofessionals were more technical, but they also helped his staff understand the delicate and essential balance between medical procedures and interpersonal communication.

When he started, his staff consisted of a midwife, a janitor, a licensed practical nurse and himself. This small team saw as many as 20 to 30 people per day and touched the lives of hundreds of families every year. When my father finally retired, his staff had expanded to 10 doctors, several nurses, a lab and various specialties.

Years later, as a young social worker, my first jobs were in the area of public health, working with the same families and communities my father served, going from home to home to see how clients were following up with their doctors' recommendations and our social work plan. I also worked with the curanderos (local faith healers), joining forces with these respected members of the community with the aim of educating people in caring for the health of their children and families. I knew early on that public health and community work went hand in hand. You could not achieve one without the other.

Not much has changed. Good public health is a collective effort. We are all responsible for achieving it, and it is at the core of our progress as a nation. Its significance cuts across age, gender, nationality, social class and any type of natural or artificially formed group. In a way, health issues will always be the great equalizer.

Thanks to our colleagues at the American Public Health Association, the first week in April (April 2-8) is dedicated to raising public awareness about the prevention of serious health threats and assuring that community-based health promotion and disease prevention activities and preventive health services are universally accessible in the United States.

The overarching goal of public health, "healthy people living in healthy communities," is a natural fit for social workers because it is congruent with both our professional skills and the core values of our profession. It encompasses all contributing aspects of health — from physical and mental wellness to social and environmental conditions.

The focus of National Public Health Week 2007 is "Preparedness and Public Health Threats: Addressing the Unique Needs of the Nation's Vulnerable Populations." The tagline, "Take the First Step," means that we all should choose an activity that better prepares our community to act in the face of a threatening public health event. Help the most vulnerable, such as mothers with children still living in the household, local food banks, hourly workers and employers, schools serving children in kindergarten through high school, and individuals with chronic health conditions.

As we look back at the last couple of years and the consequences of terrible natural disasters in our country and around the world, it is evident that preparedness at the infrastructure level as well as at the individual level is what makes the difference in the degree of losses and the speed of recovery. In addition, when we recognize that some communities and populations are more vulnerable to public health risks, we are able to take cultural, ethnic and geographic factors into account when planning more successful prevention campaigns and response partnerships.

Social workers help people overcome challenges in every social system that influences human life and are therefore an integral part of any major public health initiative. We are essential first responders, needed to help individuals cope and rebuild when disasters and tragedies of all variations happen. But we also know that our greatest achievements are in averting crisis altogether by helping people better advocate for themselves and their families every day, and by pushing the nation's institutions to effectively plan for the safety and well-being of all its people.

Good public health, like social work, means opening the doors of life's possibilities for everyone.

To comment to Elvira Craig de Silva: president@naswdc.org

From April 2007 NASW News. © 2007 National Association of Social Workers. All Rights Reserved. NASW News articles may be copied for personal use, but proper notice of copyright and credit to the NASW News must appear on all copies made. This permission does not apply to reproduction for advertising, promotion, resale, or other commercial purposes.