Public Health Degree Program and Career Education

Public health is an effort to promote, maintain, preserve and improve the health of large populations which constitute a society. This general term includes numerous wide-ranging initiatives to ensure public health, including disease prevention, life prolongation and citizen education. While traditional medical care treats individuals, the entire population of a community or a society is considered to be the patient of public health professionals and their activities. Additionally, while much of medicine is concerned with cure, public health concentrates on education and prevention, such as vaccination programs, and is applied to delivering a cure only in times of widespread outbreak of an infectious disease. Worldwide, the greatest current concerns in the field of public health include smoking, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS.

Education, Training and Degrees in Public Health

Most positions in the field of public health typically require a minimum of a master's degree to qualify. The most common degree in this field is the MPH (Master of Public Health), which is currently offered by 37 accredited colleges.

Find out more information about online Health Care degrees, certificates, and diplomas.

Explore Career Opportunities in Public Health

As an umbrella category, public health contains numerous sub-disciplines and career opportunities in many fields. These typically include epidemiology, biostatistics, and various health services, including environmental and occupational health.

Below are a few of the most popular careers in Public Health.

Environmental Health
This position deals with the interaction of populations and their environment, including the potential health risks of pollution, pesticides and other health-threatening hazards.

Biostatistics
Biostatisticians apply the science of statistics to topics which directly affect the health and safety of populations. This can include collecting and analyzing data, and predicting trends, on such issues as violent crime and highway accidents, among others.

Behavioral Sciences / Health Education
Those employed in this field are tasked with educating the public at large about how to avoid some of the most prevalent life- and health-threatening risks in their environment, and with assisting them in changing their opinions and behavior concerning these dangers. Prevention of HIV/AIDS and other STDs, and anti-smoking and drinking initiatives currently figure prominently among these public awareness campaigns.

Epidemiology
These scientists perform fieldwork to determine the cause and origin of epidemics and infectious diseases, and to assist in controlling their spread.

Health Services Administration
This administrative position combines science, a background in health education and strong business skills to oversee budgets, policies and services for health care related organizations.

Maternal and Child Health
These health care professionals specialize in ensuring the health and welfare of mothers during pregnancy and of their children, before and following birth. This can include vaccinations as well as providing information.

International Health
This field takes a global view toward public health care, combining aspects of all public health care disciplines to address the prevention of pandemics, the maintenance of health in developed countries, and the improvement of health and of the quality of life in undeveloped areas.

Public Health Laboratory Practice
Similar to epidemiology, professionals in this field screen, test, diagnose, and assist in the development of treatments and control for diseases which threaten communities and populations, whether transmitted via air, water or food.

Public Health Policy
These advocates interact with legal and legislative officials at all levels of government, as well as with political action groups, to enact laws beneficial to the public health and safety, such as seatbelt laws and anti-smoking regulations.

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