What Is Public Health All About? Keep a flu epidemic at bay by encouraging at-risk individuals to get a yearly vaccine; decrease the number of natural disaster-related fatalities by helping shape government responses and educating the public about how to prepare; or make sure under-served populations get access to the health care services they need. Public health careers take many forms, but wherever your public health job takes you, preventing disease and promoting good health is the name of the game. Public health professionals have had a profound impact on life as we know it. The average life expectancy has gone up roughly 30 years since 1900. For many, it might come as a surprise to learn that more than 25 of these years are the result of public health and safety efforts, while medical advances have increased the average life expectancy by less than four years. However, for students considering public health degrees, it's encouraging to know that the work of public health professionals is instrumental to building a healthier society.*  The Wide World of Public Health Public health is a wide-ranging field encompassing not only medicine, nursing, and dentistry, but also law, education, and the biological, social, and behavioral sciences. If you choose a career in public health, you'll be concerned with the physical, mental and environmental health of entire populations rather than of individual patients. Your main focus will be disease prevention and health promotion rather than diagnosis and treatment. Many public health professionals are educators, connecting people to needed health services and providing instruction about living a healthy lifestyle. Public health professionals also formulate public health policies designed to address local and national health problems and priorities. Public Health Workplaces Public health professionals work in a variety of settings, including the following: - Colleges and universities
- Community health centers
- Government agencies
- Health care consulting agencies
- Health insurance companies
- Hospitals
- Non-profit organizations
- Pharmaceutical companies
- Research firms
- State and local health departments
Choose Your Public Health Career With such a variety of public health jobs and degrees available, choosing your area of interest is an important step in your journey to becoming a public health professional. Here are some common specialties to consider: Behavioral Science/Health Education – Help people achieve a healthy lifestyle by educating the public about health and safety issues. You'll do things such as raise awareness about the need for disaster preparedness, encourage people to wear seatbelts, and discourage the use of illegal drugs. Biostatistics – Use math and science to identify trends, make predictions, identify the causes of illness, and answer questions that will enable officials and health workers to decide how to address public health issues. Biostatistics and epidemiology often go hand in hand. Environmental Health – Study the relationship between health and the environment. Identify risks associated with waste management, air and water quality, housing, and more. Help find ways to reduce environmental risks that jeopardize public health and safety. Epidemiology – Find the causes of disease, and stop the spread of illness. As an epidemiologist, you'll work to understand the social factors that contribute to the spread of disease. You'll find the source of an outbreak and help come up with a strategy to contain it. Health Services Administration/Management – Use your business skills and political savvy to manage both employees and budgets for health care establishments. International/Global Health – Learn about the unique public health needs and issues associated with various cultures and geographies, and understand how globalization affects the spread of disease. Maternal and Child Health – Focus your energy on promoting the health of women and children. Educate women about issues related to birth-control, pregnancy and the care of young children. Advocate for under-served populations. Nutrition – Promote healthy eating and exercise as a means to prevent disease and maintain overall wellness. Public Health Laboratory Practice – Work in the lab as a microbiologist, bacteriologist or biochemist. Conduct tests to identify health and safety risks. Public Health Policy – Promote public health through politics. Work to pass legislation that will keep people safe and healthy. Is a Public Health Career for You? If you're interested in making a significant difference in your community by helping people live healthier, safer lives, a career in public health may be for you. Search our school directory to find out more about public health schools, and take the first step today.
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*Source: WhatisPublicHealth.org
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