Published since 1878, Public Health Reports (PHR) is the official journal of the office of the U.S. Surgeon General and the U.S. Public Health Service. PHR is published by SAGE Publishing Inc. through an agreement with the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH).
This peer-reviewed public health journal features bimonthly articles on public health practice, research, training, and writing. The oldest public health journal in US, PHR has covered throughout its history various important public health issues of the day. Explore the journal’s article collections on the health harms of racism and emerging viral pandemics as well as a 2010 special issue on 1918 and 2009 influenza pandemics. PHR’s entire output since 1878 has been digitalized and is available on PubMed. It is summarized in the 2006 collection of commentaries by contemporary public health leaders highlighting the journal’s most impactful historic contributions and in the 2008 editorial celebrating the journal’s 140-year anniversary.
Information about the journal’s more recent content and publishing trends can be found in the Year in Review series of editorials. In 2021, PHR announced a call for submissions on COVID-19 and started a collection of articles on the public health response to the pandemic.
PHR also publishes "Surgeon General's Perspectives," in which the U.S. Surgeon General discusses important national public health issues.
Read the Surgeon General’s Perspectives below.
| Title | Date |
|---|---|
| The Mental Health of Minority and Marginalized Young People: An Opportunity for Action | 2022 |
| COVID-19 Pandemic Underscores the Need to Address Social Isolation and Loneliness | 2021 |
| Preventing Suicide in the United States | 2021 |
| Making the Case for Syringe Services Programs | 2020 |
| Appointment of Editor in Chief of Public Health Reports: Charting the Journal’s New Course and Sustaining Momentum | 2020 |
| Good for Health, Good for Business: The Business Case for Reducing Tobacco Use | 2019 |
| The Value of Worker Well-Being | 2019 |
| Retirement of Dr. Shaw and a New Acting Editor in Chief for Public Health Reports | 2019 |
| Hurricane Maria and a Generation of Resistencia | 2018 |
| The Value of Wellness | 2018 |
| Charting the Course to End HIV Transmission in the United States | 2017 |
| Stepping Into Healthier Communities: Revisiting the Progress of Step It Up | 2017 |
| Food Insecurity: A Public Health Issue | 2016 |
| Reducing Exposure to Secondhand Smoke: Let's Keep the Momentum Going | 2016 |
| A Promise Fulfilled—Addressing the Nation's Opioid Crisis Collectively | 2016 |
| Oral Health in America, 2000 to Present: Progress Made, But Challenges Remain | 2016 |
| A Season of Hope, A Season of Action: Addressing Mental Health through Faith Communities | 2015 |
| Making Our Communities Walkable for Older Adults | 2015 |
| Community Water Fluoridation: One of CDC’s “10 Great Public Health Achievements of the 20th Century | 2015 |
| A New Editor in Chief for Public Health Reports | 2015 |
| Improving the Physical and Emotional Health of Adolescents to Ensure Success in Adulthood | 2015 |
| Update on the U.S. Public Health Response to the Ebola Outbreak | 2015 |
| Family Health History: Using the past to Improve Future Health | 2015 |
| Quiet Heroes, Deafening Impacts | 2014 |
| Helping Women Achieve Their Breastfeeding Goals: The Role of Hospitals | 2014 |
| Antibiotic Resistance: A Public Health Crisis | 2014 |
| Testing Baby Boomers for Hepatitis C Virus Infection | 2014 |
| C. Everett Koop and the National HIV/ AIDS Strategy | 2014 |
| A Historic Moment: The 50th Anniversary of the first Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health | 2014 |
| Holiday Season Stress Free | 2013 |
| The Importance of 60 Minutes or More of Daily Physical Activity | 2013 |
| A Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease | 2013 |
| The Million Hearts Initiative: Progress in Preventing Heart Attacks and Strokes | 2012 |
| A New Surgeon General’s Report: Preventing Tobacco Use among Adolescents and Young Adults | 2012 |
| Raising Awareness of Viral Hepatitis: National Hepatitis Testing Day, May 19 | 2012 |
| Oral Health Care for People Living with HIV/ AIDS | 2012 |
| Medication Adherence: Helping Patients Take Their Medicines as Directed | 2012 |
| The National Prevention Strategy: Shifting the Nation’s Health-Care System | 2011 |
| Public Health in Action: Give Mothers Support for Breastfeeding | 2011 |
| Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010: The Cornerstone of Nutrition Policy | 2011 |
| Exposure to Tobacco Smoke Causes Immediate Damage: A Report of the Surgeon General | 2011 |
| An Important Time for Prevention | 2011 |
| Improving Health by Improving Health Literacy | 2010 |
| Multiple Chronic Conditions: A Public Health Challenge | 2010 |
| The Surgeon General’s Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation | 2010 |
| Bone Health: Preventing Osteoporosis | 2010 |
| Oral Health: The Silent Epidemic | 2010 |
| A Message from the New Surgeon General | 2010 |
| The Importance of Being Active Your Way | 2009 |
| USPHS Commissioned Corps: A Global Emergency Preparedness and Response Asset | 2009 |
| Self-Management Programs: One Way To Promote Healthy Aging | 2009 |
| The 25th Anniversary of The Surgeon General's Workshop on Breastfeeding and Human Lactation: the Status of Breastfeeding Today | 2009 |
| Mental Health Matters | 2009 |
| Preventing and Reducing Underage Drinking | 2009 |
| The Need for Wider HIV Testing | 2008 |
| Preterm Birth as a Public Health Initiative | 2008 |
| Prevention of Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism | 2008 |
| Childhood Overweight and Obesity Prevention | 2008 |
