LibGuides: Public Health Law: Public Health Overview

Government Agencies and Other PH Organizations

World Health Organization
"WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends." WHO's website includes information on diseases, reports, data and maps.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
"The mission of the Department of Health and Human Services is to help provide the building blocks that Americans need to live healthy, successful lives."
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CDC's mission is "to protect America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S." This site includes current public health issues, information on disease and injury prevention and control, law and policy, and tools for public health practioners.
Food and Drug Administration
"FDA is responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation."
United States Environmental Protection Agency
"The mission of EPA is to protect human health and the environment."
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing "public health agencies in the United States, the U.S. Territories, and the District of Columbia, and over 100,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. ASTHO members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, formulate and influence sound public health policy and ensure excellence in state-based public health practice. ASTHO's primary function is to track, evaluate, and advise members on the impact and formation of public or private health policy which may affect them and to provide them with guidance and technical assistance on improving the nation's health."
State Public Health Departments
The CDC provides links to each state or territorial public health department.
National Association of County and City Health Officials
"NACCHO’s vision is health, equity, and security for all people in their communities through public health policies and services. NACCHO’s mission is to be a leader, partner, catalyst, and voice for local health departments in order to ensure the conditions that promote health and equity, combat disease, and improve the quality and length of all lives." NACCHO's members are local health departments across the US. This site includes resources, discussion of current issues, and tools for practitioners.
American Public Health Association
"The American Public Health Association champions the health of all people and all communities. We strengthen the profession of public health, share the latest research and information, promote best practices and advocate for public health issues and policies grounded in research." Includes a Law Section.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
RWJF's mission is to "improve the health and health care of all Americans."
Public Health Accreditation Board
"The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving and protecting the health of the public by advancing the quality and performance of Tribal, state, local, and territorial public health departments." This organization oversees the accreditation process.
Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists
"CSTE works to advance public health policy and increase epidemiologic capacity. They provide information, education, training, and developmental support of practicing epidemiologists in a range of areas, as well as expertise for program and surveillance efforts.”

The 10 Essential Public Health Services

The 10 Essential Public Health Services serves as a framework of the ideal strategies towards which all communities should strive to best address the public's health. The legal component of Public Health becomes increasingly important. Note that the 5th and 6th essential public health services are respectively "create, champion, and implement policies, plans, and laws that impact health," and "utilize legal and regulatory actions designed to improve and protect the public’s health."

A Life Without Public Health Law

Health Impact Pyramid

The Health Impact Pyramid

From CDC's Director Dr. Thomas Friedan's article, "A Framework for Public Health Action: The Health Impact Pyramid"

Levels of Intervention

View "Levels of Intervention" in Part 1, Chapter 4 of link above

Primary - seeks to prevent disease or injury through reduction of risk factors. This can be active (requiring individuals to act - ex. mandating vaccination before school entry) or passive (changing the default to a healthier option - ex. flouridation of water).
Secondary - early detection of disease such as through screening of individuals (ex. mobile mammogram programs) or data collection and reporting (ex. reportable diseases sent from hospitals to local or state public health)
Tertiary - once the disease or injury exists, reducing the impact (ex. isolating someone who is contagious to prevent spread to others) or improving the health outcomes (ex. maintenance of diabetes through healthy eating education programs)

Target Audience, Event Phases, Active or Passive, Upstream or Downstream
Target Audience: interventions can be targeted at individuals, entities or environments to promote change through education, incentives, or deterrence or alter the physical, informational, or business environment.

Event Phases are Loosely based on Haddon Matrix. Two examples, e.g. teen dating violence and motor vehicle safety, demonstrate event phases.

Teen dating violence prevention example:
Pre-Event – Education
Event – Teacher policy for reporting
Post Event – Access to court for teens, shelter resources

Motor vehicle safety example:
Pre-Event – laws prohibiting drunk driving (DUI), laws prescribing licensing requirements (graduated licenses); highway design
Event – seat belt laws, airbags
Post Event – standards for emergency rescue

Active or Passive: does the population have to do something themselves to benefit? For example, a vaccination is active, and fluoridation is passive.

Up Stream or Down Stream: public health law prefers to move prevention efforts as much up stream as possible.

CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)

On-line Public Health Trainings

Johns Hopkins School of Public Health On-line Courses
Extensive list of courses available through Open Courseware, Coursera and ITunesU, many of which are free.
University of Maryland Epidemiology Course
Powerpoint series on the basics of epidemiology.
HRSA Public Health Training Center
Searchable tool on a variety of public health topics with trainings aligned to core competencies in public health.
Midwest Center for Life Long Learning series of public health courses
Courses on a variety of public health topics hosted by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.
Northwest Center for Public Health Practice Training Site
Searchable trainings offered by the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice on a variety of public health topics; many are available for continuing ed credits.

Helpful Public Health Links

Public Health Acronyms and Glossary
This handy CDC guide includes a list of acronyms from departments across CDC as well as for other public health organizations. Also included is a glossary of common public health terms.
Oxford Bibliographies in Public Health
This resource is "designed to provide authoritative guidance to scholars, students and practitioners who are faced with the challenge of navigating the vast relevant information across disciplines and at all levels of scholarly research. It covers the key areas of public health, including public policy, non-communicable diseases, infectious diseases, social determinants of disease, and key issues of poverty, equity, and social justice."
Public Health Wheel of Interventions (Interactive)
Interactive wheel of public health interventions from the VCU School of Nursing.
Georgia State University School of Public Health
Public Health Practice vs. Research: A Report for Public Health Practitioners Including Cases and Guidance for Making Decisions (PDF)
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) National Health Report 2018
The CDC compiles this report annually to give an overview of our nation's health, major public health problems we, as a nation, face, and successes in battling these challenges.

Public Health Law