Public Health is:

The science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through organized efforts and informed choices. Methods include:

  • Disease Prevention: Researching and developing strategies to prevent diseases and injuries

  • Education: Teaching the public about habits that can lead to poor health

  • Environmental Factors: Monitoring and addressing the social, economic, political, and environmental influences on health

  • Health Care Equity: Promoting access to, the quality of, and equity in healthcare

  • Healthy Lifestyle: Encouraging behaviors such as regular exercise and balanced eating

  • Infectious Disease Response: Detecting, preventing, and responding to infectious diseases

SEEDS is:

In alignment with the core mission of public health, addressing its strategies by:

  • Disease Prevention: Equipping students with accurate, developmentally appropriate knowledge about sexual and reproductive health, helping prevent sexually transmitted infections, unintended pregnancies, and sexual violence

  • Education: Promoting sexual literacy, encouraging informed decision making, and fostering agency for adolescents who are often underserved by current programs and policies

  • Environmental Factors: Recognizing that health is shaped by both systems and behaviors

  • Health Care Equity: Working to close health equity gaps by making information accessible

  • Healthy Lifestyle: Encouraging adolescents to explore bodily autonomy, communication, and healthy relationships. This supports mental, emotional, and relational well-being as well as physical health.

  • Infectious Disease Response: Teaching students about infection prevention, including how diseases are transmitted and how they can protect themselves and others