Future of public health can be found upstream

While the word “upstream” is commonly used by fly fishermen while they explain to others where to cast their fly as they fish the beautiful Provo River in search of elusive trout, this word is not commonly found in the world of medicine. Just like the tricky trout, upstream medicine looks against the flow in order to identify and understand the “why” behind the “why” and the “where” beyond the “where” when it comes to patient care and prevention of sickness and disease.

In the midst of a pandemic, it is imperative to change the way that primary care doctors and public health professionals change the way they approach the overall health of their communities. Without the proper training and a lack of confidence to investigate further, primary care doctors, public health officials, and government authorities fail to research the overall cause of a health crisis and instead focus on merely treating the effects.

Doctors, medical professionals, and public health practitioners will continue to find great success in implementing the upstream approach to health by helping those affected and the community as a whole in a more cost effective and efficient way. When we seek to understand the root causes of problems in communities, health will truly become contagious.

– Jake Johnson, Provo

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