Environmental public health and the need for branding and name recognition

Environmental public health (EPH) is a modern public health discipline that shares a common lineage with sanitation inspection, public health inspection, and environmental health; however, its transformation, internal identity, and external image are not clearly understood, defined, or depicted. The authors describe the discipline as a fusion of science, art, and services with three conceptual underpinnings: (i) it is more than inspections and regulatory enforcement; (ii) it is an integrated management system; and (iii) it is about community partnership and engagement. The premise of this article is that EPH organizations must unite to advance the new identity and image so as to strategically position the discipline for the future. Social marketing strategies such as public health branding can increase visibility, recognition, trust, and community support. We propose a synthesized definition that aims at clarifying and highlighting the discipline's science-based and community partnership approach.