Public Health
Public health includes many sections from research to services to state and local public health agencies, organizations and communities. It is the science and practice of protecting and improving the health of communities and populations. It encompasses a wide range of activities aimed at preventing disease, promoting healthy behaviors, and ensuring access to healthcare services. Key areas of public health include disease surveillance and control, injury and violence prevention and control, health education and promotion, environmental health, vaccination programs, sanitation, and health policy development. Public health efforts focus on addressing social, economic, and environmental factors that influence health outcomes, with the goal of reducing health disparities and enhancing the overall well-being of society.
Impact of Staff Reductions on Public Health During the Trump Administration
The reduction of expert and professional staff within critical public health agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), and injury and violence prevention programs poses significant risks to public health. These agencies rely heavily on specialized scientists, researchers, and health professionals to monitor, prevent, and respond to health threats, conduct vital research, implement evidence-based policies, and provision of grant and other funding to state agencies, organizations, and academic research institutions.
The CDC's Injury Center has experienced significant cuts, leading to the elimination of entire teams focused on various injury types like motor vehicle crashes, child maltreatment, elder maltreatment, drowning, and falls. Hundreds of positions were lost, impacting the center's ability to perform its work, with some eliminated functions unlikely to be taken up elsewhere. While some critical areas like overdose and suicide prevention were less affected by direct cuts, they now lack crucial technical support, including significant databases. Researchers and public health advocates warn that these cuts severely jeopardize the federal government's ability to systematically track injuries, which are the leading cause of death for Americans under 45. Specifically, a long-running initiative that tracked non-fatal injuries in real-time using emergency room data from across the country has been shut down due to staff cuts, despite its unique ability to provide detailed information on how and why injuries occurred. While a partnering agency will continue collecting product-related injury data, the broader dataset will be lost, such as the (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS), Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS), etc. See Surveillance Database Losses.
These drastic cuts were unexpected by many in the injury and violence prevention field, even given the administration's stated intentions to downsize federal health agencies. The Injury Center's budget, historically over $700 million with most funding going to state and local partners, has been significantly impacted, potentially jeopardizing programs run by organizations like the YMCA. Cutbacks in staffing can lead to diminished capacity to detect and respond swiftly to emerging infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, thereby delaying response efforts and exacerbating outbreaks (Morens & Fauci, 2020). The CDC's ability to provide accurate data, guidance, and early warnings may be compromised, undermining public trust and safety (Gostin & Hodge, 2020). Similarly, reductions at the NIH diminish the nation's ability to fund innovative medical research, potentially slowing advancements that improve health outcomes (Mullard, 2019). The FDA and FSIS play essential roles in ensuring food safety; staffing cuts could impair their ability to enforce regulations, leading to increased foodborne illnesses and safety lapses (O’Reilly, 2018). Additionally, weakened injury and violence prevention programs diminish efforts to curb preventable injuries, violence, and related health disparities.
Overall, these staffing reductions threaten to weaken the infrastructure necessary for effective public health responses, disease prevention, and health promotion, ultimately risking increased morbidity and mortality nationwide. See the Public Health Impact Map below. The Public Health Map collects, synthesizes, and visualizes up-to-date data on federal changes and their localized effects on U.S. health systems. It includes impacts from government actions within the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as health programs across the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Department of Education. To explore these impacts—both past and projected—please open the link to the map and see how federal changes are affecting communities across the country.
The reduction of expert and professional staff within critical public health agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), and injury and violence prevention programs poses significant risks to public health. These agencies rely heavily on specialized scientists, researchers, and health professionals to monitor, prevent, and respond to health threats, conduct vital research, implement evidence-based policies, and provision of grant and other funding to state agencies, organizations, and academic research institutions.
The CDC's Injury Center has experienced significant cuts, leading to the elimination of entire teams focused on various injury types like motor vehicle crashes, child maltreatment, elder maltreatment, drowning, and falls. Hundreds of positions were lost, impacting the center's ability to perform its work, with some eliminated functions unlikely to be taken up elsewhere. While some critical areas like overdose and suicide prevention were less affected by direct cuts, they now lack crucial technical support, including significant databases. Researchers and public health advocates warn that these cuts severely jeopardize the federal government's ability to systematically track injuries, which are the leading cause of death for Americans under 45. Specifically, a long-running initiative that tracked non-fatal injuries in real-time using emergency room data from across the country has been shut down due to staff cuts, despite its unique ability to provide detailed information on how and why injuries occurred. While a partnering agency will continue collecting product-related injury data, the broader dataset will be lost, such as the (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS), Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS), etc. See Surveillance Database Losses.
These drastic cuts were unexpected by many in the injury and violence prevention field, even given the administration's stated intentions to downsize federal health agencies. The Injury Center's budget, historically over $700 million with most funding going to state and local partners, has been significantly impacted, potentially jeopardizing programs run by organizations like the YMCA. Cutbacks in staffing can lead to diminished capacity to detect and respond swiftly to emerging infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, thereby delaying response efforts and exacerbating outbreaks (Morens & Fauci, 2020). The CDC's ability to provide accurate data, guidance, and early warnings may be compromised, undermining public trust and safety (Gostin & Hodge, 2020). Similarly, reductions at the NIH diminish the nation's ability to fund innovative medical research, potentially slowing advancements that improve health outcomes (Mullard, 2019). The FDA and FSIS play essential roles in ensuring food safety; staffing cuts could impair their ability to enforce regulations, leading to increased foodborne illnesses and safety lapses (O’Reilly, 2018). Additionally, weakened injury and violence prevention programs diminish efforts to curb preventable injuries, violence, and related health disparities.
Overall, these staffing reductions threaten to weaken the infrastructure necessary for effective public health responses, disease prevention, and health promotion, ultimately risking increased morbidity and mortality nationwide. See the Public Health Impact Map below. The Public Health Map collects, synthesizes, and visualizes up-to-date data on federal changes and their localized effects on U.S. health systems. It includes impacts from government actions within the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as health programs across the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Department of Education. To explore these impacts—both past and projected—please open the link to the map and see how federal changes are affecting communities across the country.
What Can You Do?
In addition, join and support efforts of organizations below:
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Safe States Advocacy Action Center - Engage in the Appropriations Process: Advocate for the Injury Center. President Trump's Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal includes the elimination of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (Injury Center). This proposal initiates the annual Congressional appropriations process. Historically, the injury and violence prevention community has successfully rallied support for this letter, securing the signatures of nearly 100 members of Congress. It is imperative that we replicate this success. A greater number of legislative co-signers significantly strengthens the position of the Injury Center against potential funding cuts or elimination. In a challenging environment for public health and injury prevention programs (including gun violence and data collection teams), your engagement in the policymaking process is more critical than ever. We encourage you to contact your members of Congress today via the Alert Center located on the right.
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Public Health Awakened is a national network of public health practitioners organizing for health, equity, and justice. We work with social justice movements on strategic and collective action to create a world in which everyone can thrive and to resist the threats faced by communities of color and low-income communities.
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PolicyLink is a nationally recognized research and advocacy organization dedicated to creating a future in which every individual in the United States can engage in a vibrant, multiracial democracy, succeed within an equitable economy, and reside in vibrant, opportunity-rich communities.
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References
- Gostin, L. O., & Hodge, J. G. (2020). US Emergency Legal Preparedness — A Critical Need During COVID-19. JAMA, 323(22), 2253–2254. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.7384
- Morens, D. M., & Fauci, A. S. (2020). The origin of COVID-19 and why it matters. JAMA, 324(21), 2153–2154. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.17069
- Mullard, A. (2019). NIH funding hits all-time high. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 18(7), 481. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41573-019-00073-8
- O’Reilly, A. (2018). Food safety under threat: How staffing cuts impact the FDA. Food Safety News. https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2018/07/food-safety-under-threat-how-staffing-cuts-impact-the-fda/
