APRIL 2001 - Volume 4

               Celebrate Public Health
Public Health Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

People living in the United States now live approximately thirty years longer than they did a hundred years ago and public health measures can be credited for approximately 25 years of the increase. During the past century the dramatic improvement of the health status of citizens was the direct result of public health response to the urgent health threats to the population. Before the introduction of vaccines for illnesses such as measles, whooping cough, diphtheria, and smallpox, Public Health used the only method they had against these diseases, quarantine of the patient and their contacts. Public Health Nurses made school visits to monitor the health of the children and made home visits for communicable disease control and for health education. Public health professionals studied the results of poor sanitation in relation to disease outbreaks and made recommendations regarding sewage disposal systems, waste water treatment plants, and safe drinking water. Standards were developed for safe food and milk supplies. These standards and recommendations were used by political subdivisions to develop regulations that could be enforced to protect the health of the citizens. With the development of vaccines to prevent many of the deadly communicable diseases Public Health, in addition to private physicians, became a direct provider of service by delivering immunization services to infants and children. Well child or "baby" clinics were used to provide immunizations and physical examinations for the preschool child and health education for the mother. Additional types of clinics for direct service were also established in some areas. Health education for the public continues to be a vital mission of Public Health. Today most people have a vague idea that Public Health enforces sanitary regulations for the food industry, controls the spread of communicable disease, and provides services for the poor, but they do not have a clear understanding of how the public health system differs from the private health care system. Public Health or Population-Based services can be defined as the activities undertaken to target risk factors that contribute to poor health outcomes. The risk factors can be environmental problems, behavior life styles, communicable disease, or lack of health information. Public Health uses physical and social science to determine effective organized efforts to promote the protection and improvement of the health of the population.

Many private organizations work to promote health in their clientele or in the community as a whole. Their activities may be referred to as community health activities. Public health is a governmental responsibility. The areas of responsibility that have been defined by the Institute of Medicine are assessment, policy development, and assurance. The assessment function requires the monitoring of health status of the community to diagnose and investigate health problems or hazards. The information is used to assist the community in forming partnerships for problem solving. The policy development function is the responsibility to develop plans and policies that support individual and community efforts to identify and solve health related problems. Public Health should assure that regulations that protect health and safety are passed and enforced, that services by competent professionals are available in the community, and that those services are effective and accessible. Direct services maybe indicated if services are not otherwise available. Public Health, now and in the future, is dealing with the resurgence of traditional diseases such as Tuberculosis and the emergence of new diseases never before encountered such as Ebola, Aids, and Legionnaire's Disease. Career opportunities in Public Health include the following professions: administrators/managers, physicians, nurses, sanitarians, nutritionists, epidemiologists, environmentalists, occupational or safety engineers, educators, planners, and outreach workers. The achievements of public health can be attributed to the vision, dedication, and talents of professionals who influenced policies and assisted in setting priorities. Contact: St. Charles County Department of Community Health and the Environment 1650 Boone's Lick Road St. Charles, Missouri 63301 636-949-7477 Telephone 636-949-7403 FAX Website - www.scchealth.org Email - health@mail.win.org