Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice Volume 1: Introduction to Paramedicine CHAPTER Fourth Edition ©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Public Health 6

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Standard Public Health

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Competency Applies fundamental knowledge of principles of public health and epidemiology, including public health emergencies, health promotion, and illness and injury prevention.

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Introduction EMS providers drawn to EMS to make contribution to society and those in need. Respond to scenes of crisis and tragedy; excited when critically ill or injured patient improves after receiving emergency medical care.

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Basic Principles of Public Health Public health: science and practice of protecting and improving health of a community. –Use of preventive medicine –Health education –Control of communicable diseases –Application of sanitary measures –Monitoring of environmental hazards

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Basic Principles of Public Health Strong medical oversight of both public health and EMS. Educate emergency care and public health providers about roles. Recognition of role of and commitment to develop and maintain relationships between leaders of component groups.

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Basic Principles of Public Health Bring community stakeholders into planning process. Create disaster plans developed locally; public health and emergency care; drill repeatedly. Pursue and secure funding.

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. An overview of public health. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Accomplishments in Public Health Vaccination Motor vehicle safety Safer workplaces Control of infectious diseases Decline in deaths from coronary artery disease and stroke

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Accomplishments in Public Health Safer and healthier foods Healthier mothers and babies Family planning Fluoridation of drinking water Recognition of tobacco as health hazard

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Public Health Laws Illness and prevention Police powers for public health agencies Epidemiological tools –2009: Public Health Law Research Program (PHLRP).  Aids public health entities in promoting effective regulatory and legal solutions to public health problems.

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Epidemiology Incidence and prevalence of disease in large populations Source and causes of epidemics of infectious disease Frequency and pattern of health events that occur in a population

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Epidemiology Concepts –Years of productive life –Injury (unintentional or intentional) –Injury risk –Injury surveillance program –Primary prevention –Secondary prevention –Tertiary prevention

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Epidemiology Major Roles in Public Health Practice –Public health surveillance –Field investigation –Analytic studies –Evaluation –Linkage –Policy development

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Epidemiology EMS Public Health Strategies –Roles for EMS in Public Health  Health promotion  Disease surveillance  Disaster management  Injury prevention

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Public Health and EMS EMS personnel prime candidates to be advocates of injury prevention. EMS providers perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and other lifesaving procedures. EMS providers widely distributed in population; reflect composition of their communities.

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Public Health and EMS Organizational Commitment –Protection of EMS providers –Education of EMS providers –Data collection –Financial support –Empowerment of EMS providers

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. EMS in the United States needs to be proactive in public education programs. (© Dr. Bryan E. Bledsoe)

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Public Health and EMS EMS Provider Commitment –Standard Precautions –Physical fitness –Stress management –Seeking professional care –Driving safety

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Disease prevention starts with health care workers. (© Dr. Bryan E. Bledsoe)

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Public Health and EMS EMS Provider Commitment –Scene safety:  Safety is always first priority.  Attention on response and equipment that will be needed  Do not approach dangerous scenes until law enforcement has arrived and deemed the scene safe.

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Every paramedic should have the appropriate safety equipment readily available and in good repair.

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Public Health and EMS EMS Provider Commitment –Scene safety:  Traffic, road conditions, hazards  Wear reflective clothing.  Precautions in place, approach patients with your own safety in mind  All crew members should be restrained while ambulance in motion.

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Prevention in the Community Areas Where EMS Can Be Active in Prevention –Infants and children:  One of every three deaths among children in U.S. results from injury.  Motor vehicle collisions, pedestrian or bicycle injuries, burns, falls, firearms

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Prevention in the Community Areas Where EMS Can Be Active in Prevention –Motor vehicle collisions:  Responsible for over half of all deaths from unintentional injuries  Alcohol use factor in about half of all motor vehicle fatalities.

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Prevention in the Community Areas Where EMS Can Be Active in Prevention –Geriatric patients:  Falls responsible for largest number of preventable injuries for persons over 75.  Some may suffer from some degree of dementia.

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Prevention in the Community Areas Where EMS Can Be Active in Prevention –Work and recreation hazards:  22%: back injuries; disabling injuries.  22%: injuries to eyes, hands, fingers.  Sports injuries common.

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Prevention in the Community Areas Where EMS Can Be Active in Prevention –Medications:  Taken improperly; taken by others  Following physician's, pharmacist's, label directions imperative. –Early discharge

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Prevention in the Community Implementation of Prevention Strategies –Preserve safety of response team –Recognize scene hazards –Document findings –Engage in on-scene education –Know your community resources

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Prevention in the Community Implementation of Prevention Strategies –Conduct community needs assessment:  Childhood and flu immunizations  Prenatal and well-baby clinics  Elder-care clinics  Defensive driving classes

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Prevention in the Community Implementation of Prevention Strategies –Conduct community needs assessment:  Workplace safety courses  Health clinics  Prevention information on your agency's Internet website

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Summary Each member of EMS shares responsibility of promoting wellness and preventing illness and injury among coworkers and community. EMS services have gone beyond traditional treatment and transport only.

©2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Paramedic Care: Principles & Practice, 4 th Ed. Summary Commonplace for EMS services to offer programs to public. Partner with members of community to make everyone more aware of how to prevent avoidable illness and injury.