Question

21st Century health priorities include issues such as communicable diseases, occupational health, mental health, alcohol and drug abuse, and violence.

Select one of these issues and discuss your thoughts on the following:

1. How the health behavior of individuals plays a role in the issue
2. Ways to increase public awareness about the issue
3. The role of public health policies in supporting greater public safety relative to the issue

Answer 1

A communicable disease is one that is spread from one person to another through a variety of ways that include: contact with blood and bodily fluids; breathing in an airborne virus; or by being bitten by an insect.

Reporting of cases of communicable disease is important in the planning and evaluation of disease prevention and control programs, in the assurance of appropriate medical therapy, and in the detection of common-source outbreaks. Some examples of the reportable communicable diseases include Hepatitis A, B & C, influenza, measles, and salmonella and other food borne illnesses.

An infectious disease that is contagious and that can be transmitted either directly or indirectly from one source to another by an infectious agent or its toxins.

How these diseases spread depends on the specific disease or infectious agent. Some ways in which communicable diseases spread are by:

1. physical contact with an infected person, such as through touch (staphylococcus), sexual intercourse (gonorrhea, HIV), fecal/oral transmission (hepatitis A), or droplets (influenza, TB)
2. contact with a contaminated surface or object (Norwalk virus), food (salmonella, E. coli), blood (HIV, hepatitis B), or water (cholera);
3. bites from insects or animals capable of transmitting the disease (mosquito: malaria and yellow fever; flea: plague); and
4. travel through the air, such as tuberculosis or measles.

We can increase public awareness about communicable diseases through,

• Follow up with persons with communicable diseases, inform them about preventive measures, and track people with whom they have been in contact;
• Follow up with contacts of persons with communicable diseases and inform them about the required screening and treatments;
• Consult and collaborate with physicians and other health care professionals;
• Raise awareness, inform and advise persons or groups.
• Education and awareness on the prevention of infections and diseases;
• Health awareness and promotion activities;
• Control measures to reduce the risk of transmission of infections and diseases.

Public health agencies, such as state and local health departments, provide a variety of healthcare services to the communities they serve. There are more than 2,500 local health departments in the United States.

The ten most frequent activities and services available through local health departments include:

• Adult immunizations
• Childhood immunizations
• Communicable/infectious disease surveillance
• Tuberculosis screening and treatment
• Food service establishment inspection
• Environmental health surveillance
• Food safety education
• Sexually transmitted disease treatment
• School/daycare center inspection
• Population-based nutrition service

State health departments can provide the following services:

• Screening for diseases and conditions
• Treatment for diseases
• Technical assistance and training for local health departments and citizens
• Laboratory services
• Epidemiology and surveillance

Public health professionals and infection preventionists working in public health try to prevent problems from happening or recurring through implementing educational programs, recommending policies, administering services and conducting research – in contrast to clinical healthcare professionals like doctors and nurses, who focus primarily on treating individuals after they become sick or injured.