Why Change Systems?

Systems are all around us.  Each day we interact with systems that provide us with food, air, water, shelter, utilities, transportation, work, healthcare, education, recreation, and leisure.  Systems are developed by governments and by private organizations including industry.  When they are well-designed and implemented, systems can protect us by ensuring and guiding the actions of industry, business, governments, and individuals.  When systems are improved, everyone can make healthy choices more easily.

Many chronic health and social problems require system changes:  tobacco use, opioid overdose, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, healthcare access.  System changes are designed to make the healthy choice the easy choice. Our modern society wasn’t engineered with health in mind, and our collective health is paying the price.

Health promotion programs have been using system, policy, and environmental strategies for many years. These approaches do not replace the need for individually aimed health promotion but they do fill a critical gap. Public health agencies are positioned to see the community-based changes needed to support health and collaborate with private groups to make them happen.

Public health professionals increasingly are engaging with systems in an effort to improve the health of populations.  Enhancing systems can involve collaborating with government officials to review existing policies that guide many systems.  By making improvements, administrations and business can provide more opportunities for healthy living.