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  • Review Article
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Precision public health in the era of genomics and big data

Nature Medicine volume 30, pages 1865–1873 (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

Precision public health (PPH) considers the interplay between genetics, lifestyle and the environment to improve disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment on a population level—thereby delivering the right interventions to the right populations at the right time. In this Review, we explore the concept of PPH as the next generation of public health. We discuss the historical context of using individual-level data in public health interventions and examine recent advancements in how data from human and pathogen genomics and social, behavioral and environmental research, as well as artificial intelligence, have transformed public health. Real-world examples of PPH are discussed, emphasizing how these approaches are becoming a mainstay in public health, as well as outstanding challenges in their development, implementation and sustainability. Data sciences, ethical, legal and social implications research, capacity building, equity research and implementation science will have a crucial role in realizing the potential for ‘precision’ to enhance traditional public health approaches.

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Fig. 1: Precision public health.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. Khoury for his input and contribution to this perspective. A.A.B. has been receiving support from grant R35ES031688 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). This work is in part supported by 2R13CA261073-02 from the NIH/National Cancer Institute (NCI) (Roberts and Allen). G.D.F. received support from grant 1U24CA274582 from the NCI.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Megan C. Roberts

  2. Department of Infection Biology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK

    Kathryn E. Holt

  3. Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Translational Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Kathryn E. Holt

  4. Biomedical Informatics, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Guilherme Del Fiol

  5. Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Andrea A. Baccarelli

  6. Department of Public Health Sciences, College of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA

    Caitlin G. Allen

Authors
  1. Megan C. Roberts
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  2. Kathryn E. Holt
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  3. Guilherme Del Fiol
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  4. Andrea A. Baccarelli
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  5. Caitlin G. Allen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Megan C. Roberts.

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Competing interests

M.C.R.’s spouse holds stock in ThermoFisher Scientific and Merck.

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Roberts, M.C., Holt, K.E., Del Fiol, G. et al. Precision public health in the era of genomics and big data. Nat Med 30, 1865–1873 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03098-0

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