The United States is having a “crisis of faith” in public health. Much of the population confuses health with healthcare, being healthy with being disease-free, and one-time medical fixes with deeper structural solutions, such as access to healthy food and stable housing, which are proven to support people’s well-being. Absent a universal guiding philosophy on about why anyone should care about health in the first place — a reality that became especially apparent during and after the COVID-19 pandemic — people view health as an end in itself as opposed to a means to an end, with the end being a rich, fulfilling and happy life.
In Why Health? What We Need to Think About When We Think About Health (Oxford University Press; on sale September 1, 2026), physician, epidemiologist and author Sandro Galea, MD DrPH delivers a powerful series of essays that reckon with the unstable and divisive moment public health finds itself in by tackling the most fundamental issues of all: why health matters in the first place and what we should be willing to do — and not do — to foster it.
Utilizing this post-pandemic moment, — or “post-war” moment, as Galea refers to it, — as a time ripe for reevaluation, the author draws on philosophy, cultural history and public health, along with lessons from COVID-19 and his multifaceted career, to examine the values that underpin the work of public health. An example Galea cites to demonstrate the friction that can arise as a result of tightly held values is the field of public health’s emphasis on prevention. During the pandemic, this core focus made it hard to acknowledge value systems shaped by other priorities. This resulted in polarizing conversations around tradeoffs intended to slow the spread of the virus such as lockdowns, school closures and masking. Galea argues that a more nuanced consideration of values might have alleviated tensions and fostered more productive debates. His aim in Why Health? is to harness this time of challenge and possibility to ask the tough and deep questions that can help shape a new vision, a practical philosophy, for those working to help people live healthier lives.
Available to pre-order here
Reviews
“Why Health is a timely and evidence-based exposé on our various concepts of healthiness and the values and beliefs that drive efforts to achieve it. It is essential reading for those who seek to understand the quest for optimal health for themselves, their communities, and why it matters.” — Georges C. Benjamin, MD, Executive Director, American Public Health Association
“Important insights on pressing issues in public health and public policy.” — Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, former Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and author of The Formula for Better Health: How to Save Millions of Lives—Including Your Own
“In Why Health?, Sandro Galea dares us to rethink health as a moral and human pursuit—rooted not only in science, but in dignity, justice, empathy, and the joy of living fully. This powerful meditation and manifesto challenges us to imagine a better world by redefining what it means to be healthy.” — Laura Magaña, PhD, President and CEO, Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH)
“This extraordinary book drives us to reconsider whether the values and assumptions regarding health need a major overhaul. Dr. Sandro Galea reimagines health and how it is the roadmap for our journey from birth to death.” — Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, Director, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy
