Which is an example of upstream public health practice?

• A. Screening for food insecurity
• B. Advocating for better food access policies
• C. Providing food distribution at pantry
• D. Participating in immunization campaigns

Answer: (B)

Upstream public health practice focuses on changing the conditions that create health problems by influencing policy, systems, and the social environment so issues are prevented before they arise. Advocating for better food access policies fits this idea because it aims to alter the rules and structures that determine whether people can obtain nutritious food, addressing root causes like affordability, availability, and transportation. It changes the environment in which people live, reducing the risk of hunger at the population level.

Screening for food insecurity identifies who is affected but doesn’t change access by itself; providing food distribution at a pantry delivers resources after a need is already identified; and immunization campaigns, while important for disease prevention, primarily protect individuals or communities without changing the underlying access barriers that drive food insecurity.