Upstream to Impact: Prevention Strategies and the Three Core Functions of Public Health | Dr. Ribka Amsalu

Public Health & Society is pleased to welcome Dr. Ribka Amsalu.

Her talk is titled: "Upstream to Impact: Prevention Strategies and the Three Core Functions of Public Health."

How do the conditions where people live, learn, work, and play shape health long before illness occurs? In this session, we will explore how upstream determinants influence population health and how primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention align with the core functions of public health—assessment, policy development, and assurance.

Drawing on foundational scholarship—including Geoffrey Rose’s The Strategy of Preventive Medicine and Leavell and Clark’s Preventive Medicine for the Doctor in His Community—we will examine how prevention theory translates into real-world public health practice and how upstream strategies can shift population outcomes and advance health equity.

Students will participate in brief case scenarios to discuss how prevention strategies operate across different levels of intervention and how public health practitioners work to promote equitable health outcomes.

Dr. Amsalu is a physician–scientist focused on improving maternal and newborn health in both U.S. and global settings. She applies epidemiology and implementation science to design and scale practical solutions. Her frontline experience spans health leadership during epidemics, conflict, and climate‑related disasters across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. She has held senior roles with Médecins Sans Frontières, Save the Children, UCSF, and the World Health Organization, and continues to advise global partnerships on standards of care. She has also taught at UCSF, Stanford, and George Washington University, fostering inclusive, field‑responsive learning environments in public health.