Public health is concerned with threats to the overall health of a community based on population health analysis. Health is defined and promoted differently by many organizations. The World Health Organization, the United Nations body that sets standards and provides global surveillance of disease, defines health as: "A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."

The population in question can be as big as a handful of people or, in the case of a pandemic, whole continents. Public health has many sub-fields, but is typically divided into the categories of epidemiology, biostatistics and health services. Environmental, social and behavioral health, and occupational Health, are also important fields in public health.

Objectives

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The focus of a public health intervention is to prevent rather than treat a disease through surveillance of cases and the promotion of healthy behaviors. In addition to these activities, in many cases treating a disease can be vital to preventing it in others, such as during an outbreak of an infectious disease. Vaccination programs and distribution of condoms are examples of public health measures.

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Health Education Research - current issue

African-American caregivers' breast health behavior
Inoue, M., Pickard, J. G., Welch-Saleeby, P., Johnson, S. This study utilizes a stress and coping framework which includes cognitive appraisal, personal and environmental resources, coping and stress to examine factors related to African-American caregivers’ breast cancer screenings, including mammograms, clinical examinations and self-examinations. Using data from the Black Rural and Urban Caregivers Mental Health and Functioning Study, we performed separate logistic regressions for each type of breast cancer screening. Results reveal that having a regular doctor checkup (coping), care recipients having a cancer diagnosis (cognitive appraisal, and living in urban areas (environment resources) are associated with receiving a mammogram. Having greater income, having at least a high school degree (both personal resources) and having a regular doctor checkup (coping) are associated with receiving a clinical examination. Increased caregiver strain (stress), being 40 years old or older, social support (coping) and living in rural areas are associated with performing a self-examination. Targeting African-American caregivers, particularly in rural areas, for increased education on the importance of receiving breast cancer screenings is crucial to addressing health disparities. Making resources available, encouraging caregivers to get a clinical examination and a mammogram and directing public education toward caregivers are important points of intervention.
Stages of mammography adoption in Asian American women
Wu, T.-Y., Hsieh, H. F., West, B. T. Asian American women have the lowest mammography screening rate and are often diagnosed at later stages of breast cancer compared with other ethnic groups. This study applied the Transtheoretical Model and examined the relationships between stages of mammography adoption and mammography-related beliefs while controlling for socio-demographic factors. The study consisted of a convenience sample of 315 participants from four populous Asian ethnic groups in Michigan (109 Asian Indians, 51 Chinese, 36 Koreans and 119 Filipinos). In this relatively small sample, Koreans appeared to be more likely to be at the pre-contemplation stage and less likely to be at the maintenance stage. Perceived barriers and decisional balance scores differed by stage, with pre-contemplators reporting highest barriers and lowest scores in decisional balance. In terms of specific barrier items, pre-contemplators also displayed significantly greater agreement for most of the barrier items. Participants in the action stage have less favorable decisional balance than those in two earlier stages (i.e. contemplation and relapse). Common barriers for this sample of Asian participants included the items related to access and modesty issues. Overall, the study supports the notion that assessing differences in mammography-related beliefs by stage of screening behavior may facilitate the development of stage-matched interventions for Asian ethnic groups.
A qualitative exploration of the community partner experience in a faith-based breast cancer educational intervention
Rodriguez, E. M., Bowie, J. V., Frattaroli, S., Gielen, A. Although community partner engagement is a key component in faith-based health promotion/disease prevention intervention research, the perspective of community partners on their experiences in the intervention process has been infrequently investigated. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 African-American community partners [i.e. four pastors and eight lay health co-ordinators (LHCs)] from eight churches in greater Baltimore, MD, USA, that engaged in a breast cancer educational intervention that followed a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach. Audiotaped interviews were transcribed, coded and content analysis was used to identify themes across the codes. Findings show that pastors support a holistic approach to health and that LHCs act as a link between the pastors, participants and academic researchers. In addition, pastors and LHCs emphasized that the religious and/or spiritual program elements should not overpower the importance of reaching participants with critical health information regardless of their religious or spiritual beliefs. Study findings suggest that faith-based educational intervention efforts that follow a CBPR approach are important in promoting cancer awareness in the African-American community. Including community partner assessment can further elucidate critical intervention impacts and helps to address health disparities in underserved communities.

Public Health News From Medical News Today

Lives Saved In Sept. 29 Samoan Tsunami By Community Education And Evacuation Planning
Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800
Community-based education and awareness programs minimized the death toll from the recent Samoan tsunami, though there are still ways to improve the warning and evacuation process, according to a team of researchers that traveled to Samoa last month. The team, funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, collected data Oct. 4 through Oct. 11 to document the impacts of the 8.1 earthquake and the ensuing tsunami that occurred on Sept. 29.
The First Casualty Of War
Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800
Researchers reporting in BioMed Central's open access journal Conflict and Health found that the discrepancy in media reporting of casualty numbers in the Iraq conflict can potentially misinform the public and contribute to distorted perceptions and gross underestimates of the number of civilians killed in the armed conflict. In February of 2007 Associated Press conducted a survey of 1,002 adults across the United States about their perceptions of the war in Iraq.
Human Health To Benefit From The Unveling Of The Genome Sequence For The Domestic Horse
Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800
The whole genome sequence of the domestic horse has been completed by the genome-sequencing center of The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, in collaboration with an international team of researchers that includes scientists at the University of California, Davis. Findings from the genome sequence have important implications for improved breeding of horses, which constitute a $39 billion industry in the United States alone, and for studies of human health.

Public Health News Headlines from Johns Hopkins

CCP Wins Worldwide Malaria Prevention Grant from USAID Worth an Estimated $100 Million
paffairs@jhsph.edu (Office of Communications) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:30:00 -0500
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health s Center for Communication Programs has been awarded a five year grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to ensure the distribution and proper use of long-lasting insecticide treated bed nets (LLINs) in malaria endemic countries. The new project, called NetWorks will partner with the Malaria Consortium, Catholic Relief Services and hundreds of local agencies across Africa and parts of Asia. The project will have an estimated cost of up to $100 million.
Kidney Function Decline Increases Risk of Coronary Heart Disease and Premature Death
paffairs@jhsph.edu (Office of Communications) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:30:00 -0500
Declining kidney function may increase an individual s risk for heart attack, peripheral arterial disease and early death even among those without kidney disease, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study examined changes in kidney function over time and is one of two new studies examining the connection between declining kidney function and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Both were published November 5 in the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN).
Consumer Electronics Can Help Improve Patient Health
paffairs@jhsph.edu (Office of Communications) Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:00:00 -0500
Electronic tools and technology applications for consumers can help improve health care processes, such as adherence to medication and clinical outcomes like smoking cessation, according to a report by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The analysis of consumer health informatics, conducted by the Bloomberg School's Evidence-based Practice Center for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), was based on an examination of 146 published research studies of patient-focused electronic tools. It is among the first to explore the potential value of consumer health informatics.

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The world now eats, lives and dies like we do in the U.S. Dr. Dean Ornish tracks the dramatic rise of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease across the globe -- as the world begins to eat, live and die like we do in the U.S. The good news: It's reversible. (Recorded February 2006 at the TED Conference, in Monterey, CA. Duration: 3:34) More TEDTalks at www.TED.com