HAS 3150
What is public health?
Chapters 1-3
• Lack of disease
• Greeks
• WHO
• Body, mind, spirit
Definition of Health
Body
• Disease
• Impairment
• Disability
• Dependency
Determinants of Health
• Scientifically established factors that relate directly to the level of the health problem.
History
• Dark ages
• Colonial America
• Agriculturalism vs Industrialization
• 1850s
• Today
History
• Dark ages
• Colonial America
• Agriculturalism vs Industrialization
• 1850s
• Today
Question…
• What actions has government taken to ensure that people are safer and healthier today than people were 100 years ago?
Core functions…
• Assessment
• Policy development
• Assurance
More…
• How does public health differ from medical care?
• In what ways are they similar?
Six disciplines…
• Epidemiology
• Statistics
• Biomedical sciences
• Environmental sciences
• Social/behavioral sciences
• Health policy and management
Activity…
• Identify a health problem in our community. What are some of the risk factors associated with the problem? Suggest a possible intervention.
• Describe the health problem in terms of a chain of causation. What “links” could be interrupted to help prevent the problem?
The issues…
• Economic impact
• Individual liberty
• Moral and religious opposition
Activity…
• Give an example of a measure that would improve public health but might be expensive to implement.
• Who would benefit?
• Who would pay the cost?
Public health agencies
• Local public health
• State public health
• Federal public health
Local
• Where the “rubber meets the road”
• Carry out laws and ordinances
• Usually organized at county level
• Some of what they do…
State Public Health
• Usually limited to federal grants– Revenue sharing– Block grants– Categorical grants
• Core functions of state health department
Federal Public Health
• Public Health Service
• Assistant Secretary for Health
• Surgeon General
Components of public health service
• Alcohol, drug abuse and mental health administration
• Centers for Disease Control• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry• Food and Drug Administration• Health Resources and Services Administration• National Institutes of Health