Pledge

As a public health professional, my mandate is to promote and protect the health of the public. Public health addresses health inequities and works toward population-wide solutions and improvements in health and wellness. It is a field that transcends all borders. It focuses on preventing injury and illness, protecting health and promoting wellness.

At its core, public health is about what is best for all of us. Guided by this mandate, I commit to the following:

• I affirm that health is a fundamental human right and strive to protect this right for all individuals and communities.
• I commit myself to excellence in all my work, holding myself to the highest ethical standards as I practice in the field of public health.
• I uphold the highest standards of dignity, equality and respect for the cultures, communities and individuals I encounter.
• I seek out information and partnerships and use the best available evidence to guide my work.
• I pursue opportunities to collaborate through interdisciplinary inquiry and to engage with the public, communities and decision-makers to advance public-health practice and healthy public policy.
• I convey knowledge to those around me in an appropriate and useful manner.
• I advocate for and create sustainable change in communities and empower and encourage others to do the same.

With this pledge, I commit myself to upholding the ideals of public health.

This pledge was developed by a working group with representation from student, alumni, staff and faculty groups. It was approved by the School of Public Health Faculty Council in February 2016.