01-07c - introduction to healthcare and public health in the us - unit 07 - public health part 1 -...

Introduction to Health Care and Public Health in the US

Public Health, Part 1

Lecture cThis material (Comp1_Unit7c) was developed by [University Name], funded by the Department of Health and Human Services,

Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology under Award Number IU24OC000015.

Public Health (Part 1)Learning Objectives

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Discern the main differences and similarities between public and private health (Lecture a)

Delineate the historic timeline and achievements of public health in the US (Lecture a)

Define and discuss key terminology of public health (Lecture b)

Illustrate the general organization of public health agencies and public health data flow (Lecture b)

Evaluate and explain the impact and value of public health (Lecture c)

Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012

Introduction to Healthcare and Public Health in the US Public Health, Part 1

Lecture c

Public Health Progress

3Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012


Lecture c

In the 20th century, Public Health radically improved population health, with achievements including:

• Significantly increased life expectancy• Reduction in infant and child mortality• Remarkable reduction in communicable diseases

Public Health Progress• It is nearly impossible to spend a single day in the US without being

affected by public health – consider these daily life examples: • food safety• restaurant inspections• fluoridated water• seatbelt use• unleaded gasoline• influenza vaccine programs• trans-fats and other nutritional information• public health response to the most recent disaster

• Public health in the US has a long record of working in the public interest; that record is almost entirely positive



Lecture c

A Terrible Injustice



Lecture c

• A terrible episode mars the otherwise favorable record of public health in the US

• The Public Health Service was one of several sponsors of two related and horrific studies (physician John Cutler was involved in both studies): – 1932 – Public Health Service began the infamous Tuskegee Study

which recorded effects of syphilis on black men. Even after penicillin became the recommended drug treatment in 1947, the men did not receive adequate treatment. In 1972, an advisory panel found the study "ethically unjustified” and it was immediately halted

– 1940’s – Experiment which deliberately sought to infect inmates at the Guatemalan National Penitentiary with syphilis in order to study the effects of early penicillin treatment

• Public Health has worked tirelessly to improve population health. While the injustice of these studies must be both noted and remembered, it is important to also remember the enormous benefits that Public Health has conferred

Top Ten Public Health Achievementsin the 20th Century



Lecture c

1. Vaccination 2. Motor-vehicle safety 3. Safer workplaces4. Control of infectious diseases5. Decrease in coronary heart disease/stroke deaths6. Safer and healthier foods 7. Healthier mothers and babies8. Family planning9. Fluoridation of drinking water10.Recognition of tobacco as health hazard(CDC, 1999)

Highlights



Lecture c

• Since 1900, the average life expectancy for Americans has increased about 30 years; 25 of those years are attributed to public health initiatives

• 1950 - in anti-tuberculosis efforts, more than 2 million X-ray examinations were made by the Public Health Service

• 1977 - Worldwide eradication of smallpox (as recently as 1958, two million people a year die from smallpox)

• 1990’s – only 4.4% of US children have elevated blood lead levels (in the 1970’s, 88.2% had elevated blood lead levels)

Highlights



Lecture c

• A combination of medical progress and public health efforts have nearly eliminated deaths from previously-rampant childhood diseases such as – Measles– Diphtheria– Scarlet fever– Whooping cough

• The battle against communicable diseases has been so successful that in 2007, of the top 10 causes of mortality,

only two factors (#8 and #10) are not either chronic disease- or injury-related

Top 10 Leading Causes of Mortality in the US



Lecture c

1. Heart disease: 616,0672. Cancer: 562,8753. Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 135,9524. Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 127,9245. Accidents (unintentional injuries): 123,7066. Alzheimer's disease: 74,6327. Diabetes: 71,3828. Influenza and Pneumonia: 52,7179. Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 46,44810.Septicemia: 34,828(CDC, 2007)

Public Health, Part 1Summary – Lecture c

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• The radical yet often overlooked improvements which public health has made to population health are discussed.

• Included are some examples of amazing successes in communicable disease countermeasures.

Health IT Workforce Curriculum Version 3.0/Spring 2012


Lecture c

Public Health, Part 1Summary

• Similarities and differences between public and private health were discussed. Criteria for assigning public health importance were explained. The history of public health in the US was reviewed with the help of some important historical highlights, including the creation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

• Some key terminology of public health was defined. The organization and funding of public health in the US was discussed. The roles of public health were discussed, and disease reporting and surveillance was used as an example.

• The radical yet often overlooked improvements which public health has made to population health were discussed. Included were some examples of amazing successes in communicable disease countermeasures.



Lecture c

Unit TitleReferences – Lecture c

References• Leading Causes of Death. (2007). Retrieved December 6, 2011, from Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention website: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm.• Public Health Achievements in the 20th Century. (1999). Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report ,

48(12), 241-243.



Lecture c

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm

01-07c - introduction to healthcare and public health in the us - unit 07 - public health part 1 -...

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