Revisiting the IOM Reports and Envisioning a Promising Future for Public Health.

Two public health reports from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine published in 1988 and 2003 by the Institute of Medicine continue to resonate. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for a robust and adequately funded public health system that has political and public support as well as strong connections to health care and other sectors. However, a spate of recent assessments of the nation's public health infrastructure shows continuing gaps in funding, workforce, capacity, and other dimensions.

The future of the public's health: vision, values, and strategies.

The expansive vision of modern public health, "healthy people in healthy communities," is politically charged. This paper offers a justification for this broad vision and offers concrete proposals. By pointing to the poor condition of public health agencies; urging a transition to an intersectoral public health system; promoting the adoption of bold changes in U.