A complicated question that features a surprisingly simple answer: Community.

Those very things that bring us together, calling us to live together as one people, are critical components in what makes public health such a unique and extraordinary discipline. Community is the focus for a science that strives to protect, promote and improve the health of others through education, lifestyle changes and research.

While clinical medicine focuses on treating an individual who is sick, the goal of public health is to work with entire populations proactively to prevent health problems from happening. Public health strengthens whole communities, empowering households, neighborhoods, cities, nations and international regions with an approach dedicated to improving the health and quality of life for all citizens.

The College of Public Health at the University of Georgia is preparing its students to join the next generation of leaders who will confront a wide range of perilous health challenges, including infectious diseases, environmental hazards, socially driven health disparities and mass casualty disasters.