https://padlet.com/cwheeler2015/a65i9pihfyuk The Roles of Federal Public Health Agencies en-us 2019-01-24 17:43:46 UTC 2025-12-28 19:25:26 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Folder.png cwheeler2015 https://padlet.com/cwheeler2015/a65i9pihfyuk/wish/324052496 2019-01-24 17:52:23 UTC https://padlet.com/cwheeler2015/a65i9pihfyuk/wish/324052496 cwheeler2015 https://padlet.com/cwheeler2015/a65i9pihfyuk/wish/324057935              Below are the twelve federal agencies of the U.S. government.  ]]> 2019-01-24 18:01:46 UTC https://padlet.com/cwheeler2015/a65i9pihfyuk/wish/324057935 cwheeler2015 https://padlet.com/cwheeler2015/a65i9pihfyuk/wish/324075515 Table 2. outlines the key federal health agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services. ]]> 2019-01-24 18:32:33 UTC https://padlet.com/cwheeler2015/a65i9pihfyuk/wish/324075515 cwheeler2015 https://padlet.com/cwheeler2015/a65i9pihfyuk/wish/324077606 While this presentation focuses on the role of federal agencies.  As seen in the chart below federal agencies top the list but all roles trickle down to all facets of health care. ]]> 2019-01-24 18:36:02 UTC https://padlet.com/cwheeler2015/a65i9pihfyuk/wish/324077606 cwheeler2015 https://padlet.com/cwheeler2015/a65i9pihfyuk/wish/324084503 The federal government’s role in public health does not explicitly appear in the U.S. Constitution. It has been justified largely by the Interstate Commerce clause, which provides federal government authority to regulate commerce between the states. Federal public health authority often rests on the voluntary acceptance by the states of funding provided by the federal government. This may come with requirements for state action in order to qualify for the funding. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the central public health agency of the federal government. It includes operating agencies, each of which report directly to the cabinet-level secretary of HHS.
Table 1. below outlines most of these agencies, their roles and authority, and their basic public health structure and activities.  Table 2. outlines the key federal health agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services.

]]> 2019-01-24 18:45:50 UTC https://padlet.com/cwheeler2015/a65i9pihfyuk/wish/324084503 cwheeler2015 https://padlet.com/cwheeler2015/a65i9pihfyuk/wish/324095286 2019-01-24 19:02:57 UTC https://padlet.com/cwheeler2015/a65i9pihfyuk/wish/324095286 cwheeler2015 https://padlet.com/cwheeler2015/a65i9pihfyuk/wish/324099319 Federal agencies are important to the development of the public health workforce generally, and specifically to the education of public health professionals. The roles of these agencies have included developing the research base that provides education; testing educational approaches; helping schools develop infrastructure; supporting faculty development; and providing funding for students. Key agencies include the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), CDC, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and their predecessors. They are located within the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), but the size of the department and the diversity of missions of the component units makes it critical that the discussion be specific to the individual agency.

From the broadest public health education perspective, HRSA and CDC have been central and will be the focus of this discussion. HRSA includes the Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr), which has the mission to help to assure access to quality health care professionals in all geographic areas and to all segments of society. BHPr puts new research findings into practice, encourages health professionals to serve individuals and communities where the need is greatest, and promotes cultural and ethnic diversity within the health professions workforce. The bureau identifies several specific programs for the public health workforce:

]]> 2019-01-24 19:09:39 UTC https://padlet.com/cwheeler2015/a65i9pihfyuk/wish/324099319 cwheeler2015 https://padlet.com/cwheeler2015/a65i9pihfyuk/wish/324103868 Federal public health agencies are crucial to the education of public health professionals and the development of the public health workforce. Federal agencies can and must play important roles in public health research, development of academic programs, development of faculty, support for students, continuing education, technology development, and modeling. The importance of leadership and action at the federal level is critical to success in educating public health professionals if the public workforce is to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

]]> 2019-01-24 19:15:54 UTC https://padlet.com/cwheeler2015/a65i9pihfyuk/wish/324103868 cwheeler2015 https://padlet.com/cwheeler2015/a65i9pihfyuk/wish/324106319 The committee recommends that federal agencies provide increased funding to develop competencies and curriculum in emerging areas of practice;

• fund degree-oriented public health fellowship programs;
• provide incentives for developing academic and practice partnerships;
• support increased participation of public health professionals in the education and training activities of schools and programs of public health; especially, but not solely, practitioners from local and state public health agencies; and
• improve practice experiences for public health students through support for increased numbers and types of agencies and organizations that would serve as sites for practice rotations. ^*

It is extremely difficult to specify needed funding levels, given the weak data base on public health outcomes, public health programs, and public health education. The committee believes that federal funding for non-physician graduate public health education should receive a significant increase. The committee further believes that public health education for physicians should also increase significantly.

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