Driving to a middle school in Seattle, the bus goes past a government building. In the foyer is a poster that reads:

WHAT IS PUBLIC HEALTH?

Checking the website later it turns out to be a campaign organized by public health students in the US to demonstrate how their discipline improves people’s lives.

It is a sad reflection that a discipline that has done so much to transform human well-being, not least dramatically increasing length of life, has to crusade for its survival.

Ironically, at first brush, the site is looks a bit clunky, not the greatest public health model! On the other hand, it had the effect of getting me, admittedly a convert, to reflect on the question being asked on the advert.

What I would like to see are public health campaigns to improve children’s development, their behavior, emotions and social relationships. There are examples, at least one of which -designed by David Hawkins and Richard Catelano- we will see this week.

But too few people know about the concept. And too few people who know about the concept and enthuse about its potential go to the next step of working out how to apply it.