Stories like Tara's: advocating the value of public health through narrative and reflection

摘要

As public health professionals, our duty as advocates extends beyond public policy development into advocating for why public health matters. This duty is an imperative given the documented challenges currently faced by our public health system. Storytelling is a deliberate means by which we can exercise our professional agency and present the diverse contributions that public and population health professionals are making to the health of communities and families. Storytelling may serve a critical role in professional reflection to enable transformative change within this challenging public health landscape. We highlight the value of storytelling by presenting the lived experience of a frontline service provider reflecting on her work with Tara-a resilient, young woman facing multiple challenges throughout her life that impacted her health and that of her family. Tara's story represents but one of countless examples from across the country that public health professionals can use to advance work on addressing health inequities. Professionals should be encouraged to build their competency in reflective practice and storytelling and to continue to use stories like Tara's in the unification of their practice and in their advocacy efforts for why public health matters to Canadians.