1. An Introduction to Public Health
Foundations For
Community Health Workers
(2nd Edition)
(2016)
Berthold, T., Editor
San Francisco, C.A.: Jossey-Bass
Chapter Three
Copyright ©  by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., or related companies. All rights reserved.
An Introduction to Public Health

2. Reflection of Last Session
What did you learn?
Share what you discovered when Googling “Community Health Worker”
CHW Core Competencies
Interdisciplinary focus of the profession
How are developments in CHW training, education, and credentialing shaping the CHW field?
Have students review what they learned from the last session.
Are there questions? Concerns?

3. What You Will Learn
Define health and public health and explain how the field of public health is different from the field of medicine
Explain how the field of public health analyzes the causes of illness and health of populations and emphasized the social determinants of health
Explain why public health is concerned with health inequalities
Discuss the relationship between promoting social justice and promoting public health

4. What You Will Learn
Describe the ecological model of public health and apply it to specific public health issues
Discuss public health’s emphasis on prevention
Explain the spectrum of prevention and provide examples for each of the six levels

5. Words to Know Prevalence Populations Primary Prevention
Secondary Prevention
Social Determinants of Health
Spectrum of Prevention
Tertiary Prevention
Chronic Disease
Ecological Model of Health
Environmental Justice
Epidemiology
Health Co-benefit
Infant Mortality
Infectious Disease
Life Expectancy

6. Definition of Health
There are many definitions of health. The most widely used definition is the one from the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO defines Health as “ the complete state of physical, mental, and social well-being, not just the absence of disease.”

7. Definition of Public Health
In 2015 the WHO defined public health as follows:
“Public health refers to all organized measures (either public or private) to prevent disease, promote health, and prolong life among the population as a whole. Its activities aim to provide conditions in which people can be healthy and focus on entire populations, not on individual patients or diseases. Thus public health is concerned with the total system and not only the eradication of a particular disease.”

8. Definition of Public Health
There are several key concepts to the definition of public health. Public health:
Emphasizes prevention
Is population based – concern with large groups of people or populations
Is an interdisciplinary field – builds on and applies a range of sciences such as biology anatomy, psychology, sociology, and anthropology.
Uses the science of epidemiology – the study of the health and illness of populations.

9. Definition of Public Health
There are several key concepts to the definition of public health. Public health:
Is concerned with social justice and health inequalities – when one group of peoples experience significantly higher rates of illness and death than others
Emphasizes the social determinants of health – economic, social, and political policies and dynamics that influence whether or not people have access to resources and opportunities essential to good health.

11. The Practice of Public Health
Public health is practiced by diverse individuals, groups, and organizations, including:
International and intergovernmental organizations
Local, state, tribal, and national government agencies
Public and private clinics and hospitals
Colleges and universities
Small and large private or nongovernmental organizations
Individuals, groups, and associations

12. Core Functions of Public Health
Assessment – focuses on understanding health-related issues before taking action
Policy development – how we address a problem and promote a better outcome
Assurance – making sure that a policy, program, or service is implemented properly

13. Ecological Model of Health
Ecological Models
Ecological Model of Health
Public health uses the Ecological Model of Health to understand and promote health.
Nation & Society
Neighborhoods & Community
Friends & Family
individual

14. Discuss the many connections within a public health system
Discuss the many connections within a public health system. The diversity of professional, multidisciplinary languages being spoken. The varying mission statements and ability to work together on specific projects. The various data being collected within each system and the potential value of that information.
Image from CDC’s Public Health101

15. Public Health Information and Analysis
Existing government data
Analysis of death rates or mortality rates
Infant mortality rates – the number of children born alive who die before the age of one
Life expectancy rates – estimated number of years that people will live.
Statistical research methods to gather health information from a sample (a smaller but representative number) of the population.
Provide examples of existing data from your area.

16. Public Health and Health Inequalities
Health inequalities are not due to genetics or other biological differences between populations. They are the consequences of the way that society is organized around access to basic resources, rights and opportunities that all people require to live long healthy lives. To change health inequalities means changing policies that effect people’s access to basic resources such as housing, food, education, employment, health care, safety, and human rights.

17. Social Justice and Public Health
The most powerful strategy for promoting public health is to advocate for changes in public policies that will provide equal access to resources, rights and opportunities that are basic for health (education, housing, nutrition, safety, civil rights, quality health care, employment). Social justice is the equal access to these basic human resources, rights and opportunities.

18. Public Health and Prevention
Primary prevention – preventing the development of a disease or condition from occurring. Secondary prevention – early diagnosis and treatment of a disease or condition before they become symptomatic (show signs). Tertiary prevention – provide services that aid in delaying further progress, alleviate symptoms, prevent complications, and delay death to those already living with a symptomatic disease or condition.

19. The Spectrum of Prevention
Strengthen individual knowledge and skills
Promoting community education
Educating providers
Fostering coalitions and networks
Changing organizational practices
Influencing policy and legislation

20. Practice
Do a search! Discover some decisions your local government has made in the past year that affect the health of the community you live in. Find some stories in the media about health inequality and bring them to the next session.
Complete Chapter 3 HW & DB in Blackboard
Read Chapter 4

21. Resources: Image on slide 2
digital-drugs-binaural-beats by digitalbob8 is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Image on slide 3 and 4
Bring Light Bulb is available in the public domain under CC0 Public Domain
Image on slides 6 and 7
Who-logo by FIHIHF2013 is licensed under a CC BY-SA 3.0
Image on slides 8 and 11-12
United States Public Health Service (seal) is available in the public domain
Video on slide 10
What is Public Health? by Global Health with Greg Martin is licensed under a Standard YouTube License
Image on slides 14
Public Health System is from the Public Health Practice Program Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , National Public Health Performance Standards Program, User Guide (first edition), (Current version available at
Image on slide 16
Inequation is available in the public domain.
Image on slide 21
Vandalised by KylaBorg is licensed under CC BY 2.0

22. Acknowledgements: MoSTEMWINs
Adapted from the Foundations for Community Health Workers, 2nd Edition (Berthold) with permission from Wiley Publishing by the Institute of Workforce Innovation of the Metropolitan Community College Kansas City and the Workforce Solutions Group of St. Louis Community College.
Unless otherwise noted this material by St. Louis Community College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This product is partially funded by the MoSTEMWINs $19.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration. The product was created by the grantee and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Labor. The Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership
MoSTEMWINs