The single most common thing that we heard was that prevention is challenging but critically important. As one expert put it, we have been “humbled in the face of the challenges posed by prevention.” Yet people spoke with equal admiration about those they saw working on prevention. People consistently spoke about the importance of those approaching the problem in different ways. We heard:
- prevention specialists emphasize the importance of behavioral economics
- behavioral specialists emphasize academic research
- academic researchers emphasize translation and implementation
- program implementers emphasize cultural awareness
- cultural experts emphasize food systems
- food system interventionists emphasize education
- educators emphasize community leadership
- community organizers emphasize hospitals
- hospital clinicians emphasize prevention specialists
Simply put, no one specialty alone can solve this problem. We are hardly the first to suggest that the silo-ing of specialties is a barrier to health; that fact was a central motivation for this Anthology. We hope, however, that this will be the most important insight from this entire exploration of prevention: People from many sectors are ready, and eager, to collaborate around this goal. We must strive to make these collaborations possible, powerful, and lasting.