Orientation to Public Health for Students
September 2011
Welcome to Public Health
This presentation will provide you with an overview of:
• What is public health
• Who works in public health
• What public health professionals do
• Foundational documents and resources that will help you to
work in public health
• Preceptorships in public health - Preceptor, student and
faculty roles
• What to expect in a public health placement
2
What is public health?
• Watch you tube video clip – be mindful that it was made in
the USA so might be a little different than what we do here in
Canada for public health.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bpu42LmLo4U
3
What is public health?
SARS
4
How is public health different
from acute care?
Acute care hospitals
(Primary Care)
Public health
(Primary Health Care)
Focus is on Treatment
Focus is on Prevention
Patients are individuals and
families
Patients are families,
communities and entire
populations
Diagnosis – physical exams
and tests
Treatment – Medication,
surgery and therapy
Diagnosis – epidemiological
studies and community input
Treatment – Education,
inspection, advocacy, clinical
services, vaccination, media
communication
5
Upstream-Downstream
6
The five key functions
of public health are:
Health Promotion
Disease Prevention
Health Protection
Surveillance
Population Health Assessment
7
Who works in public health?
Nurse
Practitioners
Epidemiologists
Nurses
Physicians
Dentists
Inspectors
Program
Planners/
Evaluators
Dietitians
Administrative
Profession-
Dental
hygienists
Social
workers
Health
Promoter
als
8
Governance
Population Health
Board of
Health
Public Health
Units
Medical
Officer of
Health
10
Health Protection & Promotion Act:
Board of Health
• Mandate health units to perform
functions in health promotion & disease
prevention
• Ensure the provision of mandated
programs & services
• Establish overall objectives & priorities
for Health Units
• Ensure accountability to the community
11
Health Protection & Promotion Act:
Medical Officer of Health (MOH)
• Directs the overall provision and
implementation of programs & services
• Evaluates effectiveness & recommends
appropriate changes
• Reports findings to the Board of Health
• Hired by and accountable to the Board
of Health
Dr. Arlene King, Chief Medical Officer of Health, Public Health Division,
Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care
12
Ontario Public Health Standards
Public Health Standards have
established program standards
in five main areas:
• Chronic Diseases and Injuries
• Family Health
• Infectious Diseases
• Environmental Health
• Emergency Preparedness
13
Priority Populations
• These are the
population groups at
risk of socially produced
health inequities
14
Factors influencing health
15
Determinants of Health
http://www.sdhu.com/content/healthy_living/doc.asp?folder=3225&parent=322
5&lang=0&doc=11749#video
• Income and social status
• Healthy child development
• Social support networks
• Biology and genetic
endowment
• Education and literacy
• Employment/working
conditions
• Health Services
• Personal health practices
and coping skills
• Culture
• Gender
16
Determinants of population health:
A complex interaction of many factors
Therefore in public health we need to ask ourselves key questions when
thinking about and planning our programs and services:
1. In what ways can public health support and advocate for programs and
services for priority populations?
2. What barriers are in place that we need to address in order to help
priority populations access programs and services?
3. In what ways can public health improve the environments where people
live, work, learn and play so that priority populations have greater access
to opportunities for health?
4. In what ways can public health improve the social and economic
conditions that put individuals at greater risk of poor health?
17
Health Equity
Equity in health implies that ideally everyone could
attain their full health potential and that no one
should be disadvantaged from achieving this
potential because of their social position or other
socially determined circumstance.
Whitehead, M. & Dahlgren, G. (2006)
18
What would happen if we didn’t have public health?
• Infectious diseases such as Tuberculosis, Measles, Mumps and
Whooping Cough would be prevalent
• People would be ill from food poisoning and poor drinking
water
• More babies would be hospitalized due to difficulty feeding
and more mothers would give up breastfeeding earlier
• More youth and adults would be smoking or abusing drugs
and alcohol
• Unwanted pregnancies would increase, as would the spread
of STIs
19
12 Great Achievements
1.
Safer and healthier foods
2.
Control of infectious diseases
3.
Healthier environments
4.
Vaccination
5.
Recognition of tobacco use as a health hazard
6.
Motor-vehicle safety
20
12 Great Achievements (continued)
7.
Decline in deaths from coronary heart disease and
stroke
8.
Healthier mothers and babies
9.
Acting on the social determinants of health
10. Universal policies
11. Safer workplaces
12. Family planning
Source: www.cpha100.ca/12-great-achievements
21
Core Competencies
• Public Health Sciences
• Assessment & Analysis
• Policy & Program Planning,
Implementation and Evaluation
• Partnership, Collaboration &
Advocacy
• Diversity & Inclusiveness
• Communication
• Leadership
22
There are many opportunities in public health…
SARS
H1N1
POVERTY
Tobacco
Strategy
23
Many Opportunities
to contribute
to the health
of society
24
Preparing for a public health placement
• Go to your health unit
website and read about
programs and services
• Talk to previous students
who have had placements in
public health
• Meet with your preceptor to
get to know him/her and
find out specifics about your
placement
25
Preparing for your
public health placement
• Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (www.health.gov.on.ca)
• Guidelines for the Provision of Mandatory Health Programs & Services (OPHS)
• Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport (www.mhp.gov.on.ca)
• Public Health Agency of Canada (www.phac-aspc.gc.ca): Core Competencies
in Public Health
• Public Health Ontario (www.publichealthontario.ca)
• Ontario Public Health Standards (www.health.gov.on.ca)
• Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion
(www.who.int/hpr/NPH/ottawa_charter_hp.pdf)
• Ontario Public Health Association OPHA (www.opha.on.ca)
• Health Protection and Promotion Act (www.e-laws.gov.on.ca)
26
Roles of student, preceptor and faculty
Student
Learning
Preceptor
Faculty
27
What to expect in a public health placement
• Expect to move around a lot and be in many places such as in
homes and in community agencies
• Expect to broaden your thinking and view of what public
health does
• Expect to attend meetings and have days when you may not
necessarily “see” a client
• Expect to feel overwhelmed and to feel out of place (at first)
as it takes time to get to know the people you are working
with and what to expect
• Expect to meet a lot of friendly people who love what they do!
28
Advice from previous students
This experience will
only be as good as
you make it. Seize
all opportunities
Share your energy
and ideas
Keep open-minded
and maintain a
positive attitude
Don’t be afraid to ask
questions and to ask
to observe or work in
a variety of program
areas
Get involved and say
“yes” to every
experience offered to
you
Public health is very
different from acute
care and so be
prepared to do extra
reading in order to
feel prepared
29
Acknowledgements
The Student Placement, Education & Preceptorship (SPEP) Network has agreed to
post this PowerPoint presentation as part of the SPEP Resource Library. This resource
is provided as a sample for reference purposes only and is not intended as a complete
orientation.
This resource was adapted with permission of the following health units:
• Niagara Region Public Health
• Sudbury & District Health Unit
• City of Hamilton Public Health Services
• Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit
• Region of Waterloo Public Health
30
Good Luck !
31