The MSU Division of Public Health focuses on population health from its home base – the College of Human Medicine’s Flint campus. Being embedded in the Flint community allows our faculty and researchers to understand the assets and needs of the community while studying Flint’s most pressing public health issues.

Spartans work side-by-side with community partners and healthcare providers in a community-identified and community-participatory public health focus model to:

Encourage healthy behaviors, mitigate chronic diseases, identify environmental health risks, and examine social factors that influence community health
Prepare graduate students to become competent public health professionals to meet the needs of communities across the globe
Engage agencies, professional organizations, and community-based partners on collaborative projects to improve health care delivery that will lead to reductions in health disparities in the community, the state of Michigan, and beyond.

Division of Public Health News

Woman to Woman Community Dialogue

The Woman to Woman Community Dialogue features Flint area women who devote their lives to service, purposeful work, activism for the betterment of people and gives hope to individuals and families living throughout the City of Flint. This event will provide information on community resources, give motivation, tangible tools, and strengthen women near and far. Join the Flint Registry and the Michigan State University-Hurley Children's Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative on April 20th and April 29th.

Cooking Classes Improve Nutrition and Emotional Health

After Flint residents were exposed to lead in their drinking water, a Michigan State University College of Human Medicine professor helped launch a series of cooking classes for kids, hoping it would teach them the importance of proper nutrition.

It did that and more.

As the kids gained confidence in the kitchen, they began trying foods they previously would have shunned, a recent study found.

Diminishing COVID-19 Racial Disparities for Tribal Communities

Armed with her MSU master’s degree in public health and more than 25 years of experience, Noel Pingatore, Spartan in Public Health, joined the fight against COVID-19 to decrease transmission and improve patient outcomes for tribal communities in Michigan. Tribal communities were experiencing higher rates of underlying risk factors for COVID-19 and disproportionate health outcomes.

Public Health: Shaping a Better Tomorrow

Making communities safe and healthy is public health’s top priority. During National Public Health Week, April 5 - 11, we honor faculty, alumni, students, staff, community partners, and professionals that are building bridges to better health. Thanks for all you do to keep our communities safe. We asked several of our faculty to explain 'what is public health' and have put together highlights of some of the work being accomplished by Spartans working in public health.

Online Master of Public Health: Information Webinars

The MSU Master of Public Health (MPH) Virtual Information Webinar gives prospective students the opportunity to learn more about Michigan State University's online public health program. Prospective students can explore the benefits of joining over 650 Spartans in public health and the importance of becoming a part of public health in action.