"The Power of Public Health" With Dean Donna Arnett in Behind the Blue

In the recent "Behind the Blue" series at the University of Kentucky, Dr. Donna Arnett, Dean of the UK College of Public Health, was interviewed and spoke about the important role and power that public health plays in everyone's everyday lives.

On this episode of "Behind the Blue," Dean Arnett talks about the hard work the College of Public Health has done during the pandemic in service to both students and community, as well as the promise and potential that comes from working in a state with such dramatic disparities in health. The full interview can be found here

"In public health, we are trying to look at populations and see what's causing diseases so we can prevent them," says Dr. Arnett. "We are trying to understand the characteristics and drivers of these diseases in population. Just about any undergraduate field can fit into public health if you have a love for people."

Residing in a state that is at the epicenter of some of our most major public health challenges, including obesity, cardiovascular disease and cancer, the UK College of Public Health is made up of six main departments: Biostatistics, Epidemiology, the Graduate Center for Gerontology, Health Management & Policy, Preventive Medicine & Environmental Health, and Health, Behavior & Society. These are all dedicated to transforming and assisting in the creation of a healthier community, state and world — for everyone.

"Our different departments focus on variable areas of public health to advance the health of Commonwealth of Kentucky and beyond," says Dr. Arnett. "Some examples include research centered around COVID-19's vaccination messaging, understanding the drivers on the reluctances on getting vaccinated, and to help people adopt better behaviors."

She continues, "We also have a brand-new university-wide center of the environment where we are studying climate change and it' impact on public health. The recent storms in Western Kentucky are one example of climate change, and we are trying to understand this impact on people. We are researching policies around Medicaid and Medicare to inform legislatures on how we can advance these policies. We are also leading studies in Eastern Kentucky in areas like cancer prevention, substance abuse disorders, and the opioid epidemic."

Dr. Arnett has been dean of the UK College of Public Health since 2016, however, her family has been in Kentucky since the late 1700s. Born in London, KY, and a first-generation student, she decided to come to the University of Kentucky because it was "home" and the right place to advance her passion for public health.

"We have a natural laboratory here in Kentucky," says Dr. Arnett. "Across this state, we can have a 10-year difference in life expectancy on average. Having this much health disparity gives us the opportunity and responsibility to be public health leaders in research that will truly help people."

Dr. Arnett says that COVID is a "once-in-a-century pandemic", which puts more focus on the public health field. As a result, the UK College of Public Health is seeing a bigger interest from students and is increasing its class sizes to accommodate this growth. She believes that this generation wants more purpose in their education and careers. They want to be in a collaborative space where they can share ideas and learn from others.

"Public health is probably one of the most collaborative colleges and our science underpins much of the research on campus," says Dr. Arnett. "We believe that public health bolsters the other research areas on campus. We have partnerships with some of the other colleges at UK including medicine, engineering, business, and agriculture which yields great science."

In the next five years, through the college's strategic plan, the overall goal is to be the primary source of public health knowledge and to be the partner of choice for the Commonwealth of Kentucky and beyond.

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The original story titled "Behind the Blue: The Power of Public Health With Dean Donna Arnett" can be found here.