Why Health? Rethinking Health in a Difficult Moment
The 178th Cutter Lecture on Preventive Medicine
Public health has made extraordinary contributions to human life. And yet, challenges to the field have emerged and gained momentum, to a point where, today opposition to public health shapes national public policy. This talk argues that the moment calls for a return to first principles. Health is a means to full, dignified lives, not an end in itself, and the work of health is inherently hard. We must reconcile collective wellbeing with individual liberty, populations with patients, evidence with values, and action with uncertainty. This talk also argues that the field’s own failures during the pandemic — partisan alignment, false certitude, intolerance of dissent, neglect of those most at risk — are now being repeated by its critics, with real cost to human lives. Emerging from the moment to a new, reinvigorated public health, requires listening, honesty about where data end and values begin, health for all as a practical test, and a better story about why health matters.
Sandro Galea is the Margaret C Ryan Dean, the Eugene S and Constance Kahn Distinguished Professor in Public Health at the Andrew M and Jane M Bursky School of Public Health and Vice Provost of Interdisciplinary Initiatives at Washington University in St. Louis. He has been named an epidemiology innovator by Time, a top voice in healthcare by LinkedIn, and is one of the most cited social scientists in the world. His writing and work are featured regularly in national and global public media. A native of Malta, he has served as a field physician for Doctors Without Borders and has held academic and leadership positions at Boston University, Columbia University, University of Michigan, and the New York Academy of Medicine.
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This hybrid event offers livestream and in-person viewing options (with limited in-person seating). Seats in the main auditorium are first come, first served. There will also be a recording of the event for those who cannot attend.
This event will be recorded and photographed for the Department of Epidemiology and Harvard Chan School Communications. If you have any questions or concerns about being photographed, please contact cliebent@hsph.harvard.edu.
Stay for the reception 5:00-6:00PM in Sebastian’s Cafe.
Open to the public.
Speakers will share their own perspectives; they do not speak for Harvard.
Speaker Information
Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH
Organizers
ⓘ Harvard Chan School hosts a diverse array of speakers, invited to share both scholarly research and personal perspectives. They do not speak for the School, and hosting them does not imply endorsement of their views, organizations, or employers.