HEA 816 Public Health Organization and Administration

Essential Service

Event

1. Monitor health status to identify community health problems

This study talks about racial/ethnic trends in service needs and different patterns of substances used among child welfare-involved caregivers over a 15-year period (2000–2015). Substance use service needs increased over time among White non-Hispanic individuals. There was a decline over time for all racial/ethnic minority groups. Mental health service needs increased over time. The largest increase was observed among white non-Hispanic individuals. Cocaine use decreased over time for everybody. Marijuana use increased significantly among Black/African American, and opioid use increased significantly among white non-Hispanic individuals.

Source; Mowbray, O., Ryan, J. P., Victor, B. G., Bushman, G., Yochum, C., & Perron, B. E. (2017). Longitudinal trends in substance use and mental health service needs in child welfare. Children and Youth Services Review, 73, 1-8.

This article fits with monitoring health status to identify community health problems because it is determining health service needs and identifying community resources.

2. Diagnose and investigate health problems and health hazards in the community

3. Inform, educate, and empower people about health issues

This article presents a problem of obesity in our society. Bloomberg Philanthropies evaluate policy efforts to reduce obesity in countries around the world. According to the article over 2 billion people around the world is obese or overweight. Over 60 % individuals who are obese live in the low and middle income countries. This problem is preventable by applying best available evidence and policies such as: promoting healthy food policies, developing obesity prevention campaigns, raising taxes on sugary drinks.

Retrieved from: https://www.bloomberg.org/program/public-health/obesity-prevention/#overview

This article fits with third essential public health services because it provides information about obesity, educate and raises awareness about this problem.

4. Mobilize community partnerships to identify and solve health problems

5. Develop policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts

This article talks about paid family and medical leave. Mostly it talks about mandatory family leave that is scientifically proven to help with family financial stability and public health. In Europe and other industrialized nations, lawmakers have a long tradition of passing laws that require paid sick and vacation days, pension requirements, health benefits, and other worker protections--including paid family and medical leave. Almost every country in the European Union (EU) bloc of nations, for example, offers ten weeks or more of paid maternity leave. Germany guarantees forty-two weeks, France twenty-nine, Denmark twenty, and Italy twenty-five. There are public health benefits, too. “New mothers who take paid leave are more likely to take the amount of time recommended by doctors, for example, and their children are more likely to be breastfed, receive medical check-ups, and get immunizations. Another study, in Europe, found that ten weeks of paid leave for new parents reduced post-neonatal mortality by up to 4.5 percent”.

Retrieved from: https://www.healthaffairs.org/healthpolicybriefs/brief.php?brief_id=165

This article fits in this point because it presents measurable objectives and talks about developing a policy or plans for families that can be significant in public health.

6. Enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety

7. Link people to needed personal health services and assure the provision of health care when otherwise unavailable

8. Assure a competent public health care workforce

9. Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-based health services

10. Research for new insights and innovative solutions to health problems