Our contribution to the "This is Public Health" campaign for promoting public health awareness was found at the University Mall in Tampa. Our group wanted to identify a public health advocate in a common yet unlikely place for health. Many people visit the mall daily; the first thing you think of when talking about a mall is shopping NOT how it contributes to your health. When we arrived onsite we saw many indicators of health around us. The mall provides hand sanitizing stations, offers wheelchairs and bike racks outside to promote physical activity. Our group came across this yellow janitorial cart and a janitor who was cleaning in the hall area. We chose this location for our sticker because it promotes sanitation and helps keep mall visitors from catching germs from others. Everyone has probably seen this cart in various public places before and thought nothing of it. However, this cart represents public health through epidemiology. By keeping the mall clean and sanitary, the mall prevents the spread of any germs and bacteria that can lead to many infectious diseases. The mall is a place for everyone in the community from newborns to the elderly. This high volume of people also creates high potential for germ spreading. This cart, which contains: antibacterial cleaning supplies, mops, brooms and towels, along with the janitorial staff, work in the hallways, food court and restrooms to keep the mall population healthy. In the food court they wash tables, they sanitize and stock up personal hygiene items in restrooms, and in the halls they mop and wipe down areas where germ spreading could occur. Public health focuses on prevention and this yellow janitorial cart is without a doubt an untiring advocate for primary prevention and our choice for the project.
You guys chose a great place for your sticker placement, even items such as ordinary janitorial carts in malls are huge proponents to public health. To think that without janitors whipping surfaces that hundreds of people touch everyday, harmful bacteria could easily be transferred from one another. This blog has proven that not only is the mall a major shopping center, but a great example of how malls are affected by public health, which is through sanitation and promoting physical activity in the community.
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