public health analyst

public health analyst

Importance of Public Health Analysis

1. Introduction

Importance of Public Health Analysis focuses on the importance that public health contributes to the community. It provides an overview of how it is applied to public health and how decision making, formulating hypotheses, evaluating and implementing various methods of data collection and statistical analysis can be of use in other public health disciplines. The purpose of the book is to provide students and professionals with practical tools that can be applied to real life public health problems. By including many examples using both data sets and statistical software, the text is most useful for public health students and professionals learning the applications of data analysis and statistical methods. Data sets from real public health problems are used to illustrate the various methods and are provided on the book’s website. Step by step methodological approaches are included for each analysis, using multiple examples. The text is unique in that it provides a comprehensive overview of the most important public health research methods and provides a good knowledge about various data analysis. By providing concise definitions and background information, the book is accessible to a diverse audience. In order to help with data analysis, most of the examples are accompanied by software code and output using Minitab for Windows. A comprehensive glossary at the end of the text will provide clear definitions for commonly used terms.

2. Role of Public Health Analysts

This includes the following: Working on a diverse range of pressing health problems, the analyst is concerned with quantifying and addressing the risks to the health of the public. This may be done through surveillance of cases of specific diseases, or through the systematic investigation of the etiology and spread of an illness. This helps to identify causal factors, and to develop and test interventions to protect and improve health in the future. The findings of public health research are incorporated into specific recommendations, legislation, and policies that can have far-reaching effects on public health. Another key role for analysts is to measure and ensure the accessibility, quality, and efficiency of public health services. This includes an investigation of the varied means by which the same services achieve differing results in health protection and improvement, a comparison of the costs and outcomes of alternative interventions and service delivery modes; and the identification of best practice in a particular service to the end of improving the health of the population. Due to the wide variety in the nature of public health services from one locale to another, a critical role here is standardization of services and generalization of findings to best practice that is transferable between different health care systems.

3. Key Skills and Qualifications

The most important qualification for a public health analyst is effective analytical skills. Skills related to assessing the quality and meaning of data or researching a problem. Fluent analysis of statistical data, research and identification of trends and relationships, assessment of previous public health programs and policies are important components of public health analysis and these skills are best learned in a master’s degree program. The use of information technology to identify and solve public health problems is key to the practice of public health. IT skills are now in high demand in all areas of public health for similar reasons. Quality writing skills are also an important skill of public health analysts. It is very difficult to raise funds for a particular health problem or implement a new health policy if you cannot effectively communicate the problem and your strategy. Public health analysts often produce reports and presentations for this reason. Health economics is an important consideration in any form of health advocacy today. Therefore, knowledge and practical application of economic assessment techniques will benefit public health analysts. Cause and effect is central to health economics and is key to its difference from pure economics. It is often difficult to determine and being able to conduct reliable assessments of resource/cost implications is important in many public health initiatives. An efficient, cost-effective solution is always favorable. A thorough understanding of public health issues and a multidisciplinary approach to solving them is critical. Finally, various methods of analysis will be employed and often some will be more effective than others. The versatility to change and employ different strategies is essential.

4. Impact of Public Health Analysis

Public Health Analysis covers a broad range of activities – it is not simply the domain of epidemiologists, although they play a key role. Public health analysis involves a systematic approach to understanding the health of the population by identifying variations and determining the risk of different health problems to target resources most effectively. It also includes evaluating the cost-effectiveness and making recommendations for policy and practice. The development of evidence-based medicine has meant that there is an increasing role for public health analysis not only in designing policy and health service provision but also in evaluating the effectiveness of various forms of treatment. This is also an area where clinical medicine and public health have become deeply intertwined. The purpose and expertise involved in public health analysis can often be misinterpreted and undervalued; this is particularly an issue when it comes to funding and policy towards the undertaking and application of public health analysis.

Research is central to the role of public health. Research helps to understand and tackle health problems. Public health research achieves this by providing a knowledge base and developing strategies for public health interventions. This incorporates developing a deep understanding of the causes and nature of the health and disease problems and the effective solutions to these problems. Health services (effectiveness, efficiency, and equity) and public health interventions can be evaluated to show the best ways to improve the health of the population. But what influence has research, particularly that involving public health analysis, actually achieved over time?

5. Conclusion

It is likely that the public health sector in Australia could derive significant benefit from a strengthening of health information at the national, state and local levels, the application of basic and applied research to inform health policy and practice, and the development of a broader understanding of the role of health determinants. In light of this, public health analysis should be seen as an important and essential focus of public health activity. This paper provides a way of looking at public health analysis and a language for discussing and developing the knowledge and skills in its application. It provides a common understanding and language, which should enable people from a wide variety of professional disciplines to contribute to and communicate about the health of the public. This is an aspect of public health analysis that is quite unique and very powerful. In fostering greater collaboration among different areas of expertise and in learning from our different experiences, we will develop greater understanding, which will translate into more effective action to enhance the health of the public.