master in public health

master in public health

The Importance of Public Health in Society

1. The Role of Public Health Professionals

At a fundamental level, all public health professionals share the same mission: to enhance the health of the population. To do this, the role of the public health professional is to be an agent of change—more specifically, a catalyst who helps to optimize the health of the public through a) working with at-risk communities, b) monitoring the health of the population, c) identifying and solving community health problems.

Public health professionals actually have several different kinds of “jobs,” all of which are oriented towards improving the health of the community. As a field, public health is quite diverse; professionals may be epidemiologists, environmental scientists, health educators, biostatisticians, public health attorneys, occupational health and safety professionals, public health administrators, and the list goes on. This diversity is both a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is that public health is a large field, and it can be difficult to define “public health practice.” At the same time, the diverse skills and knowledge of public health professionals allow them to address the multifaceted determinants of health and employ a wide range of intervention strategies.

2. Key Public Health Issues

The importance of conserving resources central to population health has been stressed in the need for sustainability. The current neoliberal global political economy, coupled with a globalized consumer culture, is unsustainable in ecological terms and has resulted in extensive degradation to the ecosystems essential for human survival. An emerging environmental public health science provides evidence of the damage and serves to identify the full range of health costs, present and future. An example is the issue of climate change. Steps for prevention that address the root cause in this and all sustainability issues are essential for a healthier global future.

In recognizing the complex causal web linking the macro-level forces of globalization and its associated neoliberal political and economic transitions to population health, it becomes clear that globalization is a key area for public health research and intervention. Such research would seek to identify forces detrimental to health and act to ameliorate their impact. High-level input to global health policies promoting equity, regulation, or protection of marginalized groups and access to essential resources will be an important aspect of this work.

The increasing threats to public health in the 21st century will not be properly addressed unless a more rational direction is incorporated to guide society’s decisions and actions. Classical epidemiology has been invaluable in identifying the threats and determining their nature. This information alone has not been sufficient to prevent the forward acceleration of the threats or to ameliorate many of them in the face of modern social, economic, and technological changes. A new public health movement is needed, and it must engage all elements of society if it is to succeed. Such a movement should be guided by the best available science and an ethic of social and environmental justice. This essay has highlighted several issues in which applying such an approach could be greatly beneficial to future population health.

3. Strategies for Promoting Public Health

2. At national government levels, efforts will be put into policies and legislations to promote public health with the use of statisticians to identify health issues throughout the population. The nature of current research and technology continues to increase the wealth and variety of health information to a large populace. It has spawned the field of health education which is a profession dedicated to the design and facilitation of activities and the implementation of structural and environmental interventions with the goal of improving the health behaviors of individuals. This is achieved by enabling individuals to develop control over their health by means of informational, motivational, skill-building, and environmental support. This is important as many health problems are preventable through behavior change.

1. Strategies can be on any scale from international, nationwide, and community-level to individual action. The first step in developing health promotion tactics is to narrow down the potential fields by implementing an identified assessment process. The success of any health program is dependent on accurate assessment of the health needs and the nature of the target group. International strategies seek to achieve global health goals and involve many countries. They are useful for addressing health issues which affect the entire world or have an effect on the image and reputation of public health. An example is the smallpox eradication campaign which was initiated after World War Two. At that time, the world population was suffering from a smallpox epidemic, and the campaign was successful in global smallpox eradication.

4. Challenges in Public Health

Throughout the course of the next few paragraphs, I will explore a range of these challenges and will look into what obstacles they present to the public health sector.

Yet this remit to improve the health status of the population is not without its problems/challenges. Public health is constantly faced with a battle to implement policy or introduce new ventures or educational literature that will see an enhancement in the population’s health status and eliminate hazards to health. This, in itself, throws up a range of obstacles, and it is these challenges which provide ample scope as to the nature and future of public health.

Until the mid-19th century, large parts of London, even the capital of the most influential empire in the history of the world, were a breeding ground for a range of epidemic diseases. The nation’s health was poor; many lived in near hopeless conditions reminiscent of those in an eighteenth-century industrial town. Yet by the dawn of the new millennium, health in England had improved immensely, and this improved health status was observable across the world. The health improvements seen in England over the last 150 years or so have seen a dramatic increase in life expectancy; a general amelioration of infant and child health; an eradication or reduction in the occurrence of the major endemic or epidemic diseases of the population, and there has been an increase in the overall quality and standard of living. This has largely been due to the influence of public health.

5. The Future of Public Health

The main goal in the future would be to create a preventative system. With the rise of healthcare costs, this is the most effective method to save money while increasing the quality of life. There are many diseases that, once diagnosed, have no real cure. The only option at that point is to stall it as long as possible. Methods to either diagnose these diseases earlier or to avoid them altogether would stop these people from having to suffer. Taking the time to develop a healthier lifestyle for individuals would also benefit the quality of life. This can range from forming better eating habits to taking proper care of mental health to generally keeping oneself out of harm’s way. All small differences in lifestyle lead to better overall health for an individual. Progression in these methods will largely improve public health around the world.

The future of public health is very promising because of the recent advancements in the field. A career in the public health sector has many different paths and is a great opportunity for people to help improve the lives of others with a rewarding outcome. Many new discoveries have been found that will help mankind in making the world a better, healthier place.