Transcript Principles of Public Health- The Mission, Core Functions

Principles of Public
HealthThe Mission, Core
Functions and Ten
Essential Services
Virginia M. Dato MD MPH
Virginia M Dato MD MPH
Board Certified - Residency Trained
Public Health Physician
 Center for Public Health Practice,
University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School
of Public Health

Learning Objectives
By the end of the course the
student will be able to
 To
understand the mission of public
health
 To understand the core functions of
public health
 To understand the 10 Essential
Services of Public Health
Performance Objectives
 By
the end of the course the
student will be able to use the
10 Essential Services of Public
Health to develop new
solutions to current public
health problems.
“When a committee of the
Massachusetts legislature confidently
asserted, on May 22, 1869 that all
governments since the time of Moses
had made provision to protect the life
and health of their people, the
legislators affirmed a tradition of
corporate responsibility for the welfare
of their people.”
From Public Health and the State - Changing Views
in Massachusetts, 1842-1936 - Barbara Gutman
Rosenkrantz Harvard University Press - 1972
The Future of Public
Health - 1988
The Committee for the Study of the Future of
Public Health Reviewed the Status of Public
Health in America
 Determined that Public Health was in
disarray
 Articulated the Mission, Substance,
Organizational Framework and the Three
Core Functions of Public Health

Mission of Public Health
 The
fulfillment of society’s
interest in assuring the
conditions in which people
can be healthy - (The
Future of Public Health)
Substance of Public
Health
 Organized
community efforts
aimed at the prevention of
disease and promotion of health.
It links many disciplines and rests
upon the scientific core of
Epidemiology (The Future of
Public Health)
The Organizational
Framework of Public Health
 Encompasses
both activities
undertaken within the formal
structure of government and
the associated efforts of
private and voluntary
organizations and individuals”
“
(The Future of Public Health)
Formal Structure of
Government in the US
 Federal
Government
– commerce
– funding
– national security
 State
Government
– primary responsibility
 Local
Government
– as delegated by the state
Core Functions
 Assessment
 Policy
Development
 Assurance
Vision
Healthy
People in
Healthy Communities
Mission
Promote
physical and
mental health and
prevent disease, injury,
and disability.
The fundamental obligation
of agencies responsible for
population-based health is
to:
Prevent epidemics and the
spread of disease
 Protect against environmental
hazards
 Prevent injuries

 Promote
and encourage
healthy behaviors and mental
health
 Respond to disasters and
assist communities in recovery
 Assure the quality and
accessibility of health services
The Ten Essential
Services of Public Health
Assessment
 “The
Committee for the Study of the
Future of Public Health “recommends that
every public health agency regularly and
systematically collect, assemble, analyze,
and make available information on the
health of the community, including
statistics on health status, community
health needs, and epidemiological and
other studies of health problems."
The Ten Essential
Services - Assessment
 Monitor
health status to identify
community health problems
 Diagnose and investigate health
problems and health hazards in the
community
 Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility,
and quality of personal and populationbased health services
Policy Development

"The committee recommends that every
public health agency exercise its
responsibility to serve the public interest in
the development of comprehensive public
health policies by promoting use of the
scientific knowledge base in decision-making
about public health and by leading in
developing public health policy. Agencies
must take a strategic approach, developed on
the basis of a positive appreciation for the
democratic political process"
The Ten Essential
Services - Policy
 Inform,
educate, and empower
people about health issues
 Mobilize community
partnerships to identify and
solve health problems
 Develop policies and plans that
support individual and
community health efforts
Assurance
 "The
committee recommends that
public health agencies assure their
constituents that services necessary
to achieve agreed upon goals are
provided, either by encouraging
actions by other entities (private or
public sector), by requiring such
action through regulation, or by
providing service directly”.
Assurance Part 2

The committee recommends that each
public health agency involve key policy
makers and the general public in
determining a set of high-priority personal
and community-wide health services that
governments will guarantee to every
member of the community. This guarantee
should include subsidization or direct
provision of high-priority personal health
services for those unable to afford them."
The Ten Essential
Services - Assurance
 Assure
a competent public health
and personal health care
workforce
 Enforce laws and regulations that
protect health and ensure safety
 Link people to needed personal
health services and assure the
provision of health care when
otherwise unavailable
The Tenth Essential
Service
 Impacts Assessment,
Policy
and Assurance
 Research for new insights and
innovative solutions to health
problems