Influenza Risk Assessment Tool (IRAT)

Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" (1920, C.E.A. Winslow). This therefore infers public health is the preventing and controlling of disease within communities, to prolong life and promote health through organised society. The keys aspects of public health …

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “It's estimated that 90 percent of seasonal flu-related deaths and more than 60 percent of seasonal flu-related hospitalizations in the United States each year occur in people 65 years and older “ (2011).The CDC advises that the best way to prevent and control the spread of influenza each year is by the use of vaccinnations. In effort to control and prevent influenza epidemics, the CDC uses the epidemiological process to predict the strain of the virus that will be most relevant to the population and this data is used to formulate influenza vaccinations (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011).

Public health means so many things, in the past it was called “health for the poor”, “washing your hands”, and taking care of “vulnerable populations” (Riegelman & Kirkwood, 2015 p. 4). In essence those are good definitions, but it is more than that definitions, public health is considered a

The last few days of summer are upon us, the leaves are beginning to change and it is once again fall in East Tennessee. While many are beginning to enjoy a relaxing break before the stresses of winter and the holidays, healthcare providers are bracing for the rush. The rush I speak of is that of doctor’s offices which are over run with those complaining of fevers, aches, and chills. Influenza season begins as early as August and can run as long as in to late March. Those affected by the virus can range from infants to the elderly, but most complications occur in those over 65, including death. According to the World Health Organization, the number of elderly persons is expected to increase from 600 million currently to over 2 billion worldwide by 2050. (WHO, 2015) Due to the rapid increase of this age group in the upcoming years, the need to prevent and establish treatment for illnesses that have the potential to be fatal in this population is a top priority. Greater risks of mortality in those over 65 who contract influenza can be attributed to several factors including: the elderly’s decline in immunity response, the inability of the elderly’s body to fully recover from infection, and finally, the long term complications of influenza among those who are already compromised.

The seasonal influenza vaccine has been in existence for a numerous amount of decades, therefore so has the gradual implementation of the vaccination. Through recent studies, the break through knowledge of the importance of enforcing the requirement of this vaccine for children has acquired increasing acceptance statistics. During the many outbreaks of different classified strands of avian influenza, the health care community has been unable to retain the virus and alleviate patients efficiently. However current tallies have shown that the system for controlling these outbreaks have improved lowering the mortality rate profoundly. (BioScience Trends, 2013).

Avian influenza is a disease that has been wreaking havoc on human populations since the 16th century. With the recent outbreak in 1997 of a new H5N1 avian flu subtype, the world has begun preparing for a pandemic by looking upon its past affects. In the 20th Century, the world witnessed three pandemics in the years of 1918, 1957, and 1968. In 1918 no vaccine, antibiotic, or clear recognition of the disease was known. Killing over 40 million in less than a year, the H1N1 strain ingrained a deep and lasting fear of the virus throughout the world. Though 1957 and 1968 brought on milder pandemics, they still killed an estimated 3 million people and presented a new

Influenza strikes this country in pandemic proportions every year. Although there are many factors contributing to morbidity and mortality, the mortality rate varies from year to year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the thirty year range from 1976 to 2006, saw death rates from a low of 3000 to a high of 49000 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). So far this season, there have been 3697 deaths from influenza related illness (CDC, 2016). In 2009, the virulent H1N1 strain, with a 20% risk of death, also brought the difficulties of lack of research based clinical evidence for treatments (Cook, et al., 2010). The lack of research conducted during pandemics stems from the delay caused by the often

Many now ignore the fact diseases can still affect us, even though currently since so many people travel it causes us to be more susceptible than ever. Countries trade now more than ever, causing the chance for diseases to spread faster than ever. Since an epidemic might be around the next bend, we need to start putting a plan into place so we can be ready when the next epidemic comes.A big worry of Tyler Kokjohn and Cooper Kimbal, the next epidemic will again be just like that common flu that we experience every year. The worry is that the response time will not be quick enough because people will just suspect that it is the yearly flu. A part that goes into saving lives is how health organizations respond, in order to prevent deaths they need to respond both quickly and effectively to information that they receive about possible small outbreaks of the disease (Kokjohn). Professionals have concerns regarding slow response times to epidemic outbreaks. Kokjohn says, “Unfortunately, influenza surveillance is an especially weak link in the chain of public-health protection. Exactly where, when, and (most important) how quickly and reliably the emergence of a new flu virus with pandemic potential is recognized will determine whether a vaccine can be produced before the virus spreads across the world. People and products now traverse the planet with ease, meaning that a future flu pandemic may engulf the world with

In this session long project, the class was instructed to watch a video on the introduction to public health and to answer three questions. What are the three core functions of public health? What are the essential services associated with each of these? What agencies (federal, state, or local) are responsible for carrying out these core functions and essential services? In the paper below these questions will be answered in reference to the E-learning video while using the provided sources.

Public health is about empowering individuals as well as communities to live healthy, happy lives and reach their

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines epidemiology as, “the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states or events (including diseases), and the application of this study to the control of disease and other health problems” (Epidemiology, 2015). There are different types of methods that can be used for epidemiological investigations which include: surveillance and descriptive studies, as well as analytical studies (Epidemiology, 2015). Influenza is a viral respiratory illness that is highly contagious (Influenza (Flu), 2015). Since it is so contagious it can cause a pandemic, epidemic, or outbreak causing sporadic cases (Mestrovic, 2014). There are two major types of influenza viruses type A and type B (Mestrovic,

Public health targets populations, has a close relationship with politics and government, compiles guidelines and enforces them, focuses on risks, quality and quantity of life. Its main goals are health promotion on a variety of health problems, advance health literacy, community outreach, development of local leadership, interventions that enforce sanitary measures, preventing or containing outbreaks, ensuring sufficient and effective vaccine supplies, and enticing research as required.

The influenza virus continues to burden communities across the nation and vaccination has been established as an invaluable prevention measure in efforts to control the infectious disease. The efficacy of the influenza vaccine is reliant on accessible vaccines which provide protection against relevant seasonal viral strains and an adequate supply to meet population needs. There has been occasions which resulted in vaccine shortages and led to inadequate supplies to meet the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended vaccination administration guidelines. The CDC recommends that all individuals aged six months old and greater, unless contraindicated, should be vaccinated annual with the seasonal influenza vaccine (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.). The national target for influenza vaccination annually are 70% and 90% for all age groups and health care professionals, respectively, according to the Healthy People 2020 objectives (Healthy People 2020, n.d.). Public health agencies play an imperative role in the response mobilization and preparedness activities related to vaccine shortage in efforts to mitigate the associated risks. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of public health chain of command in response to influenza vaccine shortage, the implications on medical care, and potential effects of disclosure to the public.

As influenza is a global virus, surveillance is carried out at several levels: globally by the WHO’s Global Influenza Programme (GIP); regionally, for example European surveillance; and nationally by each country's own surveillance systems (Johnson et al., 2010; WHO, 2017c). Various other global data sharing websites, for example FluNet and FluID provide up-to-date global surveillance information, allowing national public health departments to monitor the global situation and predict possible spread to, and impact on, their own country (WHO, 2017a). These systems, however, are dependent upon adequate national reporting and international communication

Public health is the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical health and efficiency through organized community efforts for sanitation of environment, regulation of community infections, education of individuals in principles of personal hygiene, organization of medical and nursing services for the early diagnosis, prevention, treatment of disease, and development of the social machinery which ensures that every