Schools of public health and the health of the public: enhancing the capabilities of faculty to be influential in policymaking.

Abstract

Faculty members of schools of public health contribute to better health largely through their teaching, research, and community service roles. We suggest attention to another role: exerting their influence to ensure effective public health policy. Using recent actions taken at the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public Health as a template, we describe some of the key steps that public health schools can take to help their faculties be more influential in public health policy. These steps include (1) building infrastructures to support and facilitate this role, (2) teaching faculty members how to be more influential in the policy arena, and (3) aligning incentives and rewards for faculty who contribute to improved public health by influencing the formation and implementation of public health policy.