An Overview of the Local Exploration of Public Health Essay

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The Florida Department of Health (2015) is involved in safeguarding the health and safety of the citizens. The functions of public health departments include; identifying the risk factors of illnesses, promoting safe environments, investigating disease outbreaks, provision of primary care, and educating the public on the importance of health promotion. The departments also cater to individuals who lack the ability to access private care and ensure that health professionals are adequately educated on the promotion of public health (CDC Foundation, 2015). The Florida public health department has three mandates that relate to public health (Florida Department of Health, 2015). The first obligation is health protection, which deals with the prevention of risks that could result in health impairment. Such risks include natural or manmade environmental factors. In specific, they are likely to affect health and lead to illnesses within the community. In addition, the environmental conditions require a prompt response from the department of public health to ensure that they do not spread across the population. Second, concerning health promotion and disease prevention, the department has educational programs aimed at informing the citizens on the importance of good health. Specifically, the population is taught the dangers of smoking and alcohol intake, the importance of exercises, the benefits of immunization programs, the importance of prompt treatment of illnesses, and the prevention of accidents. Lastly, the health treatment obligation deals with taking care of sick people and ensuring that health services are provided to everyone regardless of their social classes. In an effort to motivate the public health workers, the department has set aside a day to celebrate their contribution to the community. This ensures that they are adequately motivated to play their part in the promotion of health.

Define public health and epidemiology

According to the County of Los Angeles (2014), public health is a discipline involved in the promotion of health in the population. It is also concerned with undertaking research on the risk factors of various diseases. Additionally, the discipline enhances the development of policies and programs by governments, which are aimed at promoting the well-being of the community. The United States’ public health department has been in existence for many decades and has played a crucial role in the promotion of life expectancy. The department is involved in the prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases. Moreover, public health professionals ensure that the policies developed by the government are delivered to the people at the local, state, and the national levels. The prevention and control of outbreaks in the community requires the professionals to undertake scientific research on the cause, morbidity, and mortality of diseases. In reference to the CDC Foundation (2015), the public health discipline ensures that the population is healthy and well informed on the importance of health promotion.

Gordis (2014) defines epidemiology as a branch of public health that seeks to understand the cause and distribution of diseases in the population. It seeks to plan and evaluate the procedures used in the prevention of diseases and the management of the sick people. Additionally, scientific research is an integral part of the discipline and it involves the collection and interpretation of data regarding the illnesses. Epidemiology focuses on three determinants of health: person, time, and place (Gordis, 2014). These determinants are important in the investigation of diseases in the community. Another important aspect of the discipline is the measurement of disease outcomes and relating them to the individuals at risk. The scientific research arm in epidemiology analyzes the causal inferences of the diseases and determines whether other factors interfere with the causal pathway.

Discuss two milestones in public health

The CDC (2011) acknowledges that the life expectancy of the American population has increased drastically over the past century. Moreover, the public health department has made various milestones that are attributed to the increased life years.. Development of vaccine-preventable diseases is one of the major milestones made by the department. As a result of the vaccines, there has been a drastic reduction of the prevalence and incidence of diseases. The United States immunization policy targets about 17 vaccine preventable diseases. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2013), immunization programs have saved the public health department billions of dollars that would have been used for treatment programs. An example is the pneumococcal vaccine introduced in 2000. The vaccine has prevented about 13,000 pneumonia deaths annually among children. Furthermore, the average age adjusted deaths for the different diseases has reduced significantly over the decades. Another milestone is the prevention and control of communicable diseases in the population (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). Public health infrastructures have been improved to enhance disease prevention strategies. This has led to the decline of the prevalence of diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV, and hepatitis among others. In addition, there has been a major advancement in medical technologies, which has further enhanced the disease prevention. The government has also invested in disease surveillance systems that ensure timely detection of communicable diseases. Moreover, the enhanced technologies in blood screening programs have been crucial in preventing the spread of viral diseases. In summary, the public health milestones have played a role in the reduction of disease morbidity and mortality within the population.

References

CDC. (2011). Ten Great Public Health Achievements: United States, 2001-2010. Web.

CDC Foundation. (2015). What is public health? Web.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013). Ten great public health achievements in the 20th century. Web.

County of Los Angeles. (2014). Public health: Working for you every day. Web.

Florida Department of Health. (2015). Florida health: It is a new day in public health. Web.

Gordis, L. (2014). Epidemiology. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier/Saunders.

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