Brief Summary of Public Health in the United
States
Anthony DISTEFANO*
*University of California, Los Angeles(UCLA), School of Public Health
The mission of public health is to "fulfill
society's interest in assuring conditions
in which people can be healthy." (Institute
of Medicine, Committee for the Study of the
Future of Public Health, Division of Health
Care Services. 1988. The Future of Public
Health. National Academy Press, Washington,
DC)
Public health carries out its mission through
organized, interdisciplinary efforts that
address the physical, mental and environmental
health concerns of communities and populations
at risk for disease and injury. Its mission
is achieved through the application of health
promotion and disease prevention technologies
and interventions designed to improve and
enhance quality of life.
Health promotion and disease prevention technologies
encompass a broad array of functions and
expertise, including the three core public
health functions:
1. assessment and monitoring of the health
of communities and populations at risk to
identify health problems and priorities.
2. formulating public policies, in collaboration
with community and government leaders, designed
to solve identified local and national health
problems and priorities.
3. assuring that all populations have access
to appropriate and cost-effective care, including
health promotion and disease prevention services,
and evaluation of the effectiveness of that
care.
The Ten Essential Public Health Services:
1. Monitor health status to identify community
health problems.
2. Diagnose and investigate health problems
and health hazards in the community.
3. Inform, educate, and empower people about
health issues.
4. Mobilize community partnerships to identify
and solve health problems.
5. Develop policies and plans that support
individual and community health efforts.
6. Enforce laws and regulations that protect
health and ensure safety.
7. Link people to needed personal health
services and assure the provision of health
care when otherwise unavailable.
8. Assure a competent public health and personal
health care workforce.
9. Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility,
and quality of personal and population-based
health services.
10. Research for new insights and innovative
solutions to health problems.
How is Public Health Different from the Other
Health Professions?
There are many distinctions between public
health and the clinical health professions.
While public health is comprised of many
professional disciplines such as medicine,
dentistry, nursing, optometry, nutrition,
social work, environmental sciences, health
education, health services administration,
and the behavioral sciences, its activities
focus on entire populations rather than on
individual patients.
For example, doctors treat individual patients
one-on-one for a specific disease or injury.
Thus, patients need medical care only part
of the time.....namely, when they are ill.
Public health professionals on the other
hand, monitor and diagnose the health concerns
of entire communities and promote healthy
practices and behaviors to assure our populations
stay healthy. Thus, communities need public
health all of the time in order to stay healthy.
For example, this population-based approach
to health:
* assures our drinking and recreational waters
are safe.
* prevents pollution of our air and land
through enforcement of regulatory controls
and management of hazardous wastes.
* eradicates life threatening diseases such
as smallpox and polio.
* controls and prevents infectious diseases
and outbreaks such as measles, HIV/AIDS,
tuberculosis, and the Ebola virus.
* reduces death and disability due to unintentional
injuries through the formulation of policies
designed to protect the safety of the public,
such as seat belt and worker safety laws.
* facilitates community empowerment to improve
mental health, reduce substance abuse and
social violence.
* promotes healthy lifestyles to prevent
chronic diseases such as cancer, hearth disease
and obesity.
* educates populations at risk to reduce
sexually transmitted diseases, teen pregnancy
and infant mortality.
* assures access to cost-effective care.
* evaluates the effectiveness of clinical
and community-based interventions.
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