3300_UNIT4_Public Health's Role in U

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HCAD/HLSC 3300 – UNIT 4: PUBLIC HEALTH’S ROLE IN U.S. HEALTHCARE NAME: Jasmine Aran DATE: 02-12-23 PUBLIC HEALTH’S ROLE IN U.S. HEALTHCARE [This is a brainstorming/learning aid; complete sentences are not required – but effort is. Write in your own words! ] ACTIVE REVIEW OF ASSIGNED LECTURE CONTENT QUESTION ANSWER 1.) What is public health? Write your own definition. Public health is the overall status of health within a community and the efforts done to improve or maintain the general health of a group of individuals. 2.) How does public health differ from healthcare (traditional medicine)? Public health differs from healthcare because it is more of a generalized effort that focuses on the health concerns of a population or community whereas healthcare is the specified care of an individual in order to treat their unique needs. 3.) Recall, there are four types of prevention. Which of these types of prevention does public health concern itself with, primarily? Public health concerns itself with primary prevention the most because it is trying to get ahead of possible health concerns before they become an issue. Primary prevention can consist of many kinds of prevention such as educational programs that teach proper nutrition and fitness as well as providing child vaccinations. 4.) What are the core public health functions (hint: there are three)? The core functions of public health are assessment, policy development, and assurance. Public health professionals must assess their populations health by monitoring and gathering local data, then develop policies to address the health issues they find in their communities, and finally they must evaluate if the programs and policies they create to address community issues are actually helping and making a difference. 5.) What is epidemiology? Who is considered the “father” of this discipline? Epidemiology is the study of disease patterns in order to understand their causation. The “father” of epidemiology is Dr. John Snow because in his hypothesis for disease growing from contamination and not bad smells as previously thought, he used a sort of geo-information system tracking that led him to discover the source of cholera in his town and was able to prove his theory. 6.) What are the primary responsibilities of federal, state, and local public health departments? The primary responsibilities of federal public health organizations are establishing a general policy agenda that addresses the most common needs of all Americans, allocating funding to government and non-government associated public health organizations, and conducting and monitoring nationwide research to stay informed on the needs of the people as well as any possible rising health concerns. The primary responsibilities of state public health organizations include upholding federal policies, recognizing and addressing their populations unique health needs, and providing licensing for their health care professionals and inspection of healthcare facilities. The local public health departments provide the majority of services to their community by administering immunizations, keeping track of communicable diseases, and providing educational programs on nutrition and fitness.

HCAD/HLSC 3300 – UNIT 4: PUBLIC HEALTH’S ROLE IN U.S. HEALTHCARE ACTIVITY 1: THE FAILURE OF PUBLIC HEALTH Read the abstract (next page) from an article from Johns Hopkins University and answer the following questions. 1. What were some of the likely health consequences of COVID-19 lockdown policies? Consider immediate health impacts (physical and mental), as well as the impact on social determinants of health that can lead to a change in health status. COVID-19 lockdown policies can have immediate health impacts of depression and anxiety as well as physical decline caused by poor eating habits as a result of staying at home and minimal physical activity because of the inability to go out. Isolation, as a result of lockdown, can amplify feelings of depression and anxiety that can lead to social decline leaving people without the want of interacting with their peers because of fear or a lacking sense of belonging. 2. Given your understanding of the definition of public health, do you think it is ever appropriate for public health officials to focus all efforts and resources on eradicating a single illness, no matter what the costs? If there is an illness that is greatly affecting a population on a federal, state, and local level then it makes sense for public officials to focus all their efforts and resources in trying to control or eradicate the illness. The role of public health officials is to discover issues within their communities and either try to prevent the spread of disease or take direct action that can possibly stop the disease. With the case of COVID-19 I felt that it was important for public health officials to focus all their energy on trying to prevent the spread of the disease since it was rapidly expanding throughout communities and collecting a high death toll. 3. What might have been a better approach for managing the COVID-19 pandemic than widespread, lengthy lockdowns of both sick and healthy individuals? Although lockdowns might not have been the best approach for managing the COVID-19 pandemic I believe that at the time since there was still so little known about the disease, it was the easiest way to try and prevent its spread. With that said, since hindsight is 20/20 vision, it would have been better to push for the prioritization of cleanliness (such as handwashing after every outing and interaction) , providing people with disinfectants and hand sanitizers, and a sooner mask mandate for public outings.

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