Minnesota Institute of Public Health

Though most people believe in the value of prevention, we continue to face the challenge of how to profile it in a compelling way. Many people are familiar with the Upstream story, but upon request I reiterate it here:

A man, walking along a riverbank, suddenly sees a person flailing his arms and hears him pleading for help as he bobs in the water while being pushed downstream. The man on the bank dives into the water, swims to the victim and rescues him by pulling him ashore. When the man turns toward the river, once again he hears someone screaming for help. Then another. And another. One after the other, the man pulls victims from the river.

Exhausted, and pulling yet another victim to shore, he notices a woman walking by. “Help me!” he pleads. “All these people are drowning and I have to do something to save them. More people are falling in and need help. Look!” he says, pointing to the river where more victims are in the water and needing help.

Immediately, the woman starts to run upstream along the bank.

“Where are you going?” he screams at the woman. “I need help now!”

“I am helping right now,” says the woman. “I’m going upstream to find out how they’re falling into the river and to prevent that!”

For me, prevention remains knowledge – what do we need to know, skills – what do we need to be able to do, and support – what kind of policy and norms do we need to be supported for making healthy choices? Prevention needs to be evidence based, tested, and true. 

One Minnesota leader once said, “You know we do a good job of treating the casualties, but we need to do a better job of posting warning signs, marking the risky trouble spots, changing the environment, wearing our safety vests, and anticipating problems in order to have a better chance of preventing their negative consequences.”

True enough.

How do YOU best communicate the value of prevention?

--JJ