Great Lakes Wire

Dr. Renée Branch Canady, CEO of the Michigan Public Health Institute (MPHI), participated in a discussion on public health during the New Hampshire Family NOW Podcast. The conversation occurred at Prevent Child Abuse America’s National Conference and focused on the importance of public health equity for improving family and children's health.

“Oftentimes when I think about good health, I don’t think of the clinical, biological, or physiological well-being,” Dr. Canady said. “I think about the broad well-being: educational well-being, relational well-being, employment well-being. It really is about how we structure our lives in this society, where the healthy choice is the easy choice for everyone.”

Dr. Canady highlighted that public health aims to address living conditions and improve life quality for those in vulnerable situations like inadequate housing or economic hardship. She emphasized that everyone has the right to live healthy lives despite circumstances beyond their control. The objective of public health is to reduce these inequities and work towards a society where health is accessible to all.

She further stated that achieving equity in the United States requires multiple steps. As discussions around equity increase, she urged that action must follow by examining societal systems and structures that may hinder different groups from attaining healthy living. Dr. Canady specifically called for reviewing and enhancing structures affecting families and children.

“We have the ability to assure that everyone can be their best, most healthy self; free of the scourges of poverty, free of the scourges of racism and discrimination and bias, free of the scourges of gender oppression,” Dr. Canady said.

The full podcast can be accessed at NH Family NOW Podcast | NH Children’s Trust (nhchildrenstrust.org).