Pitt Public Health Magazine

Prevention in Focus

Spring 2025

Triangle with points as Prevent, Prepare, Predict with Public Health in the center

Prioritizing Prevention

This figure represents the reciprocal elements of public health's mission to predict, prepare for and, ultimately, prevent disease and disability. Each point of the triangle informs and reinforces the whole. >>See message from Dean Lichtveld

The Cholera Epidemic of London, 1854

John Snow and map of London streets "You and I may not live to see the day, and my name may be forgotten when it comes, but the time will arrive when great outbreaks of cholera will be things of the past; and it is the knowledge of the way in which the disease is propagated which will cause them to disappear."

-John Snow to Henry Whitehead

John Snow conducted pioneering investigations on cholera epidemics in England, and particularly in London in 1854, during which he identified contaminated water as the key source of disease transmission.

Message from the Dean

"Pennsylvania is among four states formally designated as a commonwealth, a traditional English term denoting a unified community intended “for the common good.” The discipline of public health is a commonwealth with like purpose—a community of scientists, practitioners and students committed to achieving healthier, more resilient populations...

Predict, Prepare, Prevent

In-Depth

On Point

Pitt Public Health researchers are harnessing the power of big data and precision public health approaches to prevent disease and reduce the high cost of health care.

Features