What is Public Health?
Public health is the science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities. This work is achieved by promoting healthy lifestyles, researching disease and injury prevention, and detecting, preventing and responding to infectious diseases.
https://www.cdcfoundation.org/what-public-health
Public health prevents disease and injury. In the medical field, clinicians treat disease and injuries one patient at a time. Public health works with communities and population to identify the causes of disease and disability and implement largescale solutions.
https://www.jhsph.edu/about/what-is-public-health/index.html
Public health is a broad field. Examples of current topics and issues include:
https://www.apha.org/topics-and-issues
Who is Public Health?
Some examples of the many professionals in public health:
-
Health educators
-
Scientists and researchers
-
Restaurant inspectors
-
Nutritionists
-
Community planners
-
Social workers
-
Epidemiologists
-
Public health physicians
-
Public health nurses
-
Occupational health professionals
-
Public policymakers
-
Sanitarians
https://www.apha.org/what-is-public-health
The 10 Essential Public Health Services
The 10 Essential Public Health Services describe the public health activities that all communities should undertake:
- Monitor health status to identify and solve community health problems
- Diagnose and investigate health problems and health hazards in the community
- Inform, educate, and empower people about health issues
- Mobilize community partnerships and action to identify and solve health problems
- Develop policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts
- Enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety
- Link people to needed personal health services and assure the provision of health care when otherwise unavailable
- Assure competent public and personal health care workforce
- Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-based health services
- Research for new insights and innovative solutions to health problems
Awareness Days/Weeks
National Public Health Week
http://www.nphw.org/
First full week of April each year
Safe + Sound Week
https://www.osha.gov/safeandsoundweek/
A nationwide event to raise awareness and understanding of the value of safety and health programs that include management leadership, worker participation, and a systematic approach to finding and fixing hazards in workplaces.
International Overdose Awareness Day
https://www.overdoseday.com/
International Overdose Awareness Day is a global event and aims to raise awareness of overdose and reduce the stigma of a drug-related death. August 31st each year
National Preparedness Month
https://www.ready.gov/september
National Preparedness Month (NPM), provides an opportunity to remind us that we all must prepare ourselves and our families now and throughout the year. Each September
National Food Safety Month
https://www.servsafe.com/Landing-Pages/National-Food-Safety-Month
National Food Safety Month was created in 1994 to heighten the awareness of food safety education. Each September
Get Ready Day
http://www.getreadyforflu.org/getreadyday/index.htm
Helps Americans prepare themselves, their families and their communities for all disasters and hazards, including pandemic flu, infectious disease, natural disasters and other emergencies.
Held the third Tuesday of each September
Prescription Drug Take Back Day
https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/
The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.
Great American Smokeout
https://www.cancer.org/healthy/stay-away-from-tobacco/great-american-smokeout.html
Encourage smokers to use the date to make a plan to quit, or to plan in advance and quit smoking that day. Third Thursday of November each year
World AIDS Day
https://www.hiv.gov/events/awareness-days/world-aids-day
An opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. December 1st each year
Events
American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting
https://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Early November each year, location moving to major cities around the US.
Organizations
American Public Health Association (APHA)
https://www.apha.org/
Student and other discounted memberships available. Green discount available.
Publishes American Journal of Public Health 12 issues per year, The Nation’s Health newspaper 10 x per year
Local Websites
South Dakota Department of Health (SD DOH)
http://doh.sd.gov/
City of Sioux Falls Health Department
http://www.siouxfalls.org/health
Training and Educational Websites
TRAIN Learning Network
TRAIN is a national learning network that provides quality training opportunities for professionals who protect and improve the public’s health.
https://www.train.org/main/welcome
Data Websites
United States Census Bureau
The Census Bureau's mission is to serve as the leading source of quality data about the nation's people and economy.
https://www.census.gov/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Wonder
WONDER online databases utilize a rich ad-hoc query system for the analysis of public health data. Reports and other query systems are also available.
https://wonder.cdc.gov/
National Cancer Institute (NCI) Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER)
The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program provides information on cancer statistics in an effort to reduce the cancer burden among the U.S. population.
https://seer.cancer.gov/
Above are links to agencies, organizations and other websites that provide information and resources. The South Dakota Public Health Association exercises no control over the content of these sites and provides the links for informational purposes only.