Health Functions Project: The 10 Essential Services Of Public Health

The ten essential services of public health are a product of the Public Health Functions Project. This Project, developed in 1995in response to President Clinton’s Health Security Act (1993), help define what public health does. The Project refined and expanded the 3 core functions of public health, developed by the Institute of Medicine in 1988, to include and define 10 essential services that should be provided by every public health department in the United States. The Office of Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of Public Health Science, Office of the Secretary, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services worked together and, in the process strengthened the public health infrastructure of our nation. Today, the 10 essential public

This service uses the knowledge gained from the core function of assessment to begin the process of policy development (California Department of Public Health “Strategic Plan”, 2013). This service focuses with our work to empower people to make informed decisions regarding individual and community health matters (California Department of Public Health “Strategic Plan”, 2013). The communication needs to be targeted to specific groups, accounting for varying levels of understanding, cultural and ethnic differences, vulnerability to the health effects of climate change, and other factors (Frumkin, H., Hess, J., Luber, G., Malilay, J., & McGeehin, M., 2008). Messages should empower people to access and use necessary health resources. Since frightening scenarios may elicit despair and helplessness, it is important to design messages that minimize these responses and that lead instead to constructive behaviors (Frumkin, H., Hess, J., Luber, G., Malilay, J., & McGeehin, M., 2008). The service also encompasses public health activities such as: social marketing and targeted media public communication; providing accessible health information resources at community levels; active collaboration with personal health care providers to reinforce health promotion

Because state and local public health programs are often funded at least in part with Federal dollars, accountability is often a key issue (“Ten Essential Public Health Services.” 2015). Public health programs therefore document progress towards positive change in health behavior or health status indicators (“Ten Essential Public Health Services.” 2015). Data such as these can be presented to policymakers to document the value or effectiveness of a program (“Ten Essential Public Health Services.” 2015). Those data can also be used for continued program planning and modification (“Ten Essential Public Health Services.” 2015). Policies have positive or negative influences on health. Examples of health policies include safety standards, which influence the incidence of injuries; tobacco regulations affect personal health; and safe city parks can affect the ability for people are active (California Department of Public Health “Strategic Plan”, 2013). It is a systematic process to utilize appropriate data, develop and track measurable health objectives, establish strategies and actions to guide the targeted improvements (California Department of Public Health “Strategic Plan”, 2013). The targeted strategies may be laws, codes, regulations and/or