Public health or more specifically, prevention-oriented population health may be a relatively small component in any health system compared, for example, to provision of individual-level curative health services. The core functions of public health and the contribution of public health practice to any health system are central to that system functioning effectively. The diagram above highlight six core functions of public health that we feel have the widest influence on the effectiveness of the health system itself. Health systems are certainly complex, and specific activities need to address and adapt to local contexts, (Bloland, Simone, Burkholder, Slutsker & De Cock, 2012).

The Federal Government plays a large role in the public health system in the country. It surveys the population's health status and health needs, sets policies and standards, passes laws and regulations, supports biomedical and health services research, helps finance, and sometimes delivers personal health services, provides technical assistance and resources to state and local health systems, provides protection against international health threats, and supports international efforts toward global health.

The top federal unit responsible for public health is US Department of Public Health Services in the Department of Health and Human Services.

The second major unit is Health Care Financing Administration which is also in the Department of Health and Human Services.

Other Federal departments with agencies responsible for health are Food and Nutrition Services in Department of Agriculture, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services of the Department of Education, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the main assessment and epidemiologic unit for the nation, directly serves the population as well as providing technical assistance to states and localities.

The National Center for Health Statistics within the Centers for Disease Control is the main authority for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating health data. 

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, also an assessment unit, focuses on environmentally related diseases. 

The National Institutes of Health, the primary research arm of the government, both conducts research and supports research projects across the nation. 

The Food and Drug Administration directly tests and assesses safety of food, drugs, and a wide variety of consumer goods and sets standards for safe use of these items. 

The Health Resources and Services Administration is primarily concerned with resources development and health manpower. 

The Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration concentrates on developing programs and setting standards in these areas. 

The other major division of the Department of Health and Human Services concerned with public health activities is the Health Care Financing Administration, which operates the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The federal government directly finances health services for elderly Americans through the Medicare program and provides grants to the states through the Medicaid program to assist them in financing health services for poor Americans. A large portion of Medicaid money also goes to finance long-term care for the elderly.

 

Local health departments carry out their activities under authority delegated by their state or by local jurisdictions. State legislatures may delegate authority to local agencies to conduct activities in the state interest. In doing so, legislatures may delegate local health departments only to carry out administrative functions of the state, such as enforcing the state public health code, or they may empower city and town governments with regulatory or rule-making powers.

 

Despite tremendous variation in services rendered, there are some similarities in local health department programs. Local health departments can be characterized as mainly involved in providing health education, environmental health services, and personal health services and in conducting inspections.

 

Infant, Child & Adolescent Health – KidCare; Breastfeeding; Children’s Medical Services, School Health, Healthy Start

Community Health – Refugee Health; Food Access; Dental Health

Emergency Preparedness & Response – Community Preparedness, Disaster Response Resources 

Immunization – Provider Information for COVID-19 Vaccine

Men’s Health – Reproductive Health

Public Health Laboratories – Laboratory Services, Biosafety Outreach

WIC (Women, Infant & Children) – Nutrition Materials, Nutrition education and counseling, Breastfeeding support

 

Women’s Health – Family Planning, Pregnancy

Licensing & Regulation

The Department of Health is responsible for the regulation of health practitioners for the preservation of the health, safety, and welfare of the public. The Licensing and Regulation section provides information relating to professional, facility, and permit licensing along with information on enforcement.

Statistics & Data

Health Statistics – Annual Cancer Reports 

Emergency Medical Operations – Trauma Registry

Environmental Public Health – Inspection Reports, Radon Data, Environmental Public Health Tracking

 

E-FORCE – The Florida Prescription

Population Surveillance – Behavioral Risk Surveillance System (BRFSS)

Vital Statistics

Request Vital Statistics Research Data

 

Air – Air Monitoring, Carbon Monoxide, Mold, Radon

Water – Beach Water Quality, Drinking Water, Public Swimming Pools

Contaminants – Biomedical Waste, Hazardous Waste Sites, Lead Poising, Radiation Control

Community – Group Care Facilities, Migrant Farmworkers, Mosquito Preventions, Rodents

Community Safety – Body Piercing, Chemicals, Mobile Home Parks, Recreational Diving, Tanning Facilities, Tattooing

 

Disease Prevention – Stress, Drowning, Suicide

Injury Prevention – Dog Bites Prevention, Tobacco Free Florida, Falls

Disease Surveillance – Food and Water-borne Outbreak, Influenza Surveillance

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/index.html

The United States Public Health Service includes the 

(1) Centers for Disease Control

(2) the National Institutes of Health

(3) the Food and Drug Administration

(4) the Health Resources and Services Administration

(5) the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration; and 

(6) the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

The Centers for Disease Control, the main assessment and epidemiologic unit for the nation, directly serves the population as well as providing technical assistance to states and localities.

The National Center for Health Statistics within the Centers for Disease Control is the main authority for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating health data. 

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, also an assessment unit, focuses on environmentally related diseases. 

The National Institutes of Health, the primary research arm of the government, both conducts research and supports research projects across the nation. 

The Food and Drug Administration directly tests and assesses safety of food, drugs, and a wide variety of consumer goods and sets standards for safe use of these items. 

The Health Resources and Services Administration is primarily concerned with resources development and health manpower. 

The Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration concentrates on developing programs and setting standards in these areas. 

Other major division of the Department of Health and Human Services concerned with public health activities is the Health Care Financing Administration, which operates the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The federal government directly finances health services for elderly Americans through the Medicare program and provides grants to the states through the Medicaid program to assist them in financing health services for poor Americans. A large portion of Medicaid money also goes to finance long-term care for the elderly.

States are the principal governmental entity responsible for protecting the public's health in the United States. They conduct a wide range of activities in health. State health agencies collect and analyze information; conduct inspections; plan; set policies and standards; carry out national and state mandates; manage and oversee environmental, educational, and personal health services; and assure access to health care for underserved residents; they are involved in resources development; and they respond to health hazards and crises. 

States carry out most of their responsibilities through their police power, the power "to enact and enforce laws to protect and promote the health, safety, morals, order, peace, comfort, and general welfare of the people."

 

Despite major differences in organization and responsibilities among the state agencies, there are some consistencies in programs handled by the states. For example, nearly all states have programs for Vital Statistics and in Epidemiology. Most conduct planning, and many have planning units and most have regulatory responsibilities. Almost all states conduct Environmental Safety Programs in Sanitation and in Water Quality. And almost all states are involved in the personal health services. In assuring health services, states reported a variety of activities in inspection, licensing, regulation, health education, environmental health, personal health services, and resources development.

 

Florida Department of Health. (2021). About Us. Retrieved from http://www.floridahealth.gov/about/index.html

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Starks, M. (October 13, 202). 10-Essential-Public-Health-Services. National Network of Public Health Institutes. Retrieved from https://nnphi.org/top-5-issues-to-consider-at-the-intersection-of-behavioral-health-and-public-health-2020-update/10-essential-public-health-services/

Teitelbaum, J. B., & Wilensky, S. E. (2021). Essentials of Health Policy and Law - Fourth Edition. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. 

Tulchinsky, T. H., & Varavikova, E. A., in The New Public Health (Third Edition), (2014). ScienceDirect. History of Public Health. Retrieved from History of Public Health - an overview | ScienceDirect. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978012415766800001X