The role of public health in the prevention of war: rationale and competencies.
In 2009 the American Public Health Association approved the policy statement, "The Role of Public Health Practitioners, Academics, and Advocates in Relation to Armed Conflict and War." Despite the known health effects of war, the development of competencies to prevent war has received little attention. Public health's ethical principles of practice prioritize addressing the fundamental causes of disease and adverse health outcomes. A working group grew out of the American Public Health Association's Peace Caucus to build upon the 2009 policy by proposing competencies to understand and prevent the political, economic, social, and cultural determinants of war, particularly militarism. The working group recommends that schools of public health and public health organizations incorporate these competencies into professional preparation programs, research, and advocacy.
At the time of writing, William H. Wiist was with the Interdisciplinary Health Policy Institute at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff. Kathy Barker is with Washington Truth in Recruiting, Seattle. Neil Arya is with Office of Global Health, University of Western Ontario; Environment and Resource Studies, University of Waterloo; and Family Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. Jon Rohde is retired. Martin Donohoe is with the School of Community Health, Portland State University, Portland, OR. Shelley White is with the Department of Health Sciences Worcester State University, Worcester, MA. Pauline Lubens is with the MPH Program in Public Health, University of California, Irvine. Geraldine Gorman is with the College of Nursing, University of Illinois, Chicago. Amy Hagopian is with the Department of Global Health, University of Washington School of Public Health, Seattle.
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Kathy
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Arya
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Lubens
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D006801:Humans; D011361:Professional Competence; D024382:Professional Role; D011635:Public Health Administration / Q000592:standards; D011640:Public Policy; D012955:Societies, Medical / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D014481:United States; D014857:Warfare