Discuss Public health programs

Discussion: Public health programs

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This course is designed to provide you the knowledge and skills in application, evaluation, analysis, and interpretation of biostatistical data used to inform public health programs, policy, and practice. Elizabeth Pisani is an epidemiologist in public health and has a message about the role that politics has on the use of the data. View “Elizabeth Pisani: Sex, Drugs and HIV – Let’s Get Rational.” Do you agree or disagree with Pisani’s message about the role of politics in public health?

Public health has been defined as “the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting human health through organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals”.[1] Analyzing the health of a population and the threats it faces is the basis for public health.[2] The public can be as small as a handful of people or as large as a village or an entire city; in the case of a pandemic it may encompass several continents. The concept of health takes into account physical, psychological and social well-being. As such, according to the World Health Organization, it is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.[3]

Public health is an interdisciplinary field. For example, epidemiology, biostatistics and management of health services are all relevant. Other important subfields include environmental health, community health, behavioral health, health economics, public policy, mental health, occupational safety, gender issues in health, and sexual and reproductive health.

Public health aims to improve the quality of life through prevention and treatment of disease, including mental health. This is done through the surveillance of cases and health indicators, and through the promotion of healthy behaviors. Common public health initiatives include promotion of handwashing and breastfeeding, delivery of vaccinations, suicide prevention, and distribution of condoms to control the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

Modern public health practice requires multidisciplinary teams of public health workers and professionals. Teams might include epidemiologists, biostatisticians, medical assistants, public health nurses, midwives, medical microbiologists, economists, sociologists, geneticists, data managers, and physicians. Depending on the need, environmental health officers or public health inspectors, bioethicists, and even veterinarians, gender experts, or sexual and reproductive health specialists might be called on.[4]