Genomics and public health at CDC

Genomics is the study of the entire genome, including all genes and their interactions with each other and with the environment. The scope of public health genomics is even broader, encompassing genetic variation in populations, both human and microbial. Molecular typing of pathogens--a mainstay of infectious disease surveillance, prevention, and control--already is used to trace epidemics, provide information for vaccine development, and monitor drug resistance. Now genomic research is producing powerful new tools for public health; for example, a newly described, microchip-based method promises to diagnose influenza infection, distinguish among viruses of human or animal origin, and detect mutations that suggest increasing virulence--all in a matter of hours.     

Law and public health at CDC

Public health law is an emerging field in U.S. public health practice. The 20th century proved the indispensability of law to public health, as demonstrated by the contribution of law to each of the century's 10 great public health achievements. Former CDC Director Dr. William Foege has suggested that law, along with epidemiology, is an essential tool in public health practice. Public health laws are any laws that have important consequences for the health of defined populations. They derive from federal and state constitutions; statutes, and other legislative enactments; agency rules and regulations; judicial rulings and case law; and policies of public bodies. Government agencies that apply public health laws include agencies officially designated as "public health agencies," as well as health-care, environmental protection, education, and law enforcement agencies, among others.     

Economics and public health at CDC

Economics is the study of decisions--the incentives that lead to them and the consequences that result from them--as they relate to present and future production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services when resources are limited and have alternative uses. At CDC, economics is used to systematically identify, measure, value, and compare the costs and consequences of alternative prevention strategies. Costs and consequences in public health can be measured in various ways, including incidence or prevalence of disease; numbers of adverse events; utility measures, such as quality-adjusted life years; and monetary values. Because it deals with behavior, economics is not really about money at all. Money is just a convenient way to measure incentives and consequences.     

Informatics and public health at CDC

Since CDC acquired its first mainframe computer in 1964, the use of information technology in public health practice has grown steadily and, during the past 2 decades, dramatically. Public health informatics (PHI) arrived on the scene during the 1990s after medical informatics (intersecting information technology, medicine, and health care) and bioinformatics (intersecting mathematics, statistics, computer science, and molecular biology). Similarly, PHI merged the disciplines of information science and computer science to public health practice, research, and learning. Using strategies and standards, practitioners employ PHI tools and training to maximize health impacts at local, state, and national levels. They develop and deploy information technology solutions that provide accurate, timely, and secure information to guide public health action.     

Statistics and public health at CDC

Since CDC's inception, an important function of the agency has been the compilation, analysis, and interpretation of statistical information to guide actions and policies to improve health. Sources of data include vital statistics records, medical records, personal interviews, telephone and mail surveys, physical examinations, and laboratory testing. Public health surveillance data have been used to characterize the magnitude and distribution of illness and injury; to track health trends; and to develop standard curves, such as growth charts. Beyond the development of appropriate program study designs and analytic methodologies, statisticians have played roles in the development of public health data-collection systems and software to analyze collected data. CDC/ATSDR employs approximately 330 mathematical and health statisticians. They work in each of the four coordinating centers, two coordinating offices, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.     

Epidemiology and public health at CDC

Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states or events in specified populations and the application of this study to control health problems. However, in public health, the terms "field epidemiology" and "applied epidemiology"--which emphasize use of results in public health settings--define the practice of epidemiology at CDC. Epidemiology has been characterized as the basic science of public health, and its practice at CDC has shaped the agency's development and will contribute to its future success.     

Engineering and public health at CDC

Engineering is the application of scientific and technical knowledge to solve human problems. Using imagination, judgment, and reasoning to apply science, technology, mathematics, and practical experience, engineers develop the design, production, and operation of useful objects or processes. During the 1940s, engineers dominated the ranks of CDC scientists. In fact, the first CDC director, Assistant Surgeon General Mark Hollis, was an engineer. CDC engineers were involved in malaria control through the elimination of standing water. Eventually the CDC mission expanded to include prevention and control of dengue, typhus, and other communicable diseases. The development of chlorination, water filtration, and sewage treatment were crucial to preventing waterborne illness. Beginning in the 1950s, CDC engineers began their work to improve public health while developing the fields of environmental health, industrial hygiene, and control of air pollution. Engineering disciplines represented at CDC today include biomedical, civil, chemical, electrical, industrial, mechanical, mining, and safety engineering. Most CDC engineers are located in the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). Engineering research at CDC has a broad stakeholder base. With the cooperation of industry, labor, trade associations, and other stakeholders and partners, current work includes studies of air contaminants, mining, safety, physical agents, ergonomics, and environmental hazards. Engineering solutions remain a cornerstone of the traditional "hierarchy of controls" approach to reducing public health hazards.     

Laboratory science and public health at CDC

Laboratory technology is as essential to public health practitioners for monitoring threats to public health as it is to clinical practitioners who depend on laboratory technology to diagnose and monitor disease in individuals. Laboratory technology provides essential information for effective public health interventions, whether monitoring emerging infectious diseases, such as avian influenza globally; identifying pathogens, such as Escherichia coli in the U.S. food supply and pinpointing its source; screening newborns for devastating disorders, such as phenylketonuria, that can be prevented by early intervention; or developing the capacity to quickly screen for exposure to chemical and biologic agents.     

Veterinary medicine and public health at CDC

People readily associate the role of veterinarians with private veterinary practice focused on pets and farm animals, but the true dimensions and contributions of veterinary medicine are much broader and reflect expanding societal needs and contemporary challenges to animal and human health and to the environment. Veterinary medicine has responsibilities in biomedical research; ecosystem management; public health; food and agricultural systems; and care of companion animals, wildlife, exotic animals, and food animals. The expanding role of veterinarians at CDC reflects an appreciation for this variety of contributions. Veterinarians' educational background in basic biomedical and clinical sciences compare with that of physicians. However, unlike their counterparts in human medicine, veterinarians must be familiar with multiple species, and their training emphasizes comparative medicine. Veterinarians are competent in preventive medicine, population health, parasitology, zoonoses, and epidemiology, which serve them well for careers in public health. The history and tradition of the profession always have focused on protecting and improving both animal health and human health.     

Behavioral and social sciences and public health at CDC

Although the history of CDC spans 60 years, only during the last 2 decades of the 20th century did the agency come to recognize and better understand the importance of the behavioral and social sciences to its overall mission. This recognition was a consequence of several events, notably the growing public awareness of the many conditions and diseases linked to unhealthy behavior and the creation of three new organizational units at CDC--the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in 1988, the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control in 1992, and the National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention in 1993--that focused on conditions, diseases, and injuries with clear behavioral risks. Accordingly, the relatively small number of CDC behavioral and social scientists were initially concentrated in these three centers. In 1995, to raise awareness of behavioral and social sciences at CDC and to integrate these fields into CDC-conducted and -supported research and practice activities, the agency's behavioral and social scientists established the Behavioral and Social Sciences Working Group (BSSWG). The application of the behavioral and social science disciplines to public health attests to the success of the working group. Today, BSSWG continues as a formal organization sponsored by the Office of the Chief Science Officer within the CDC Office of the Director.     

基层疾控中心突发公共卫生事件应急管理实践

<正>《突发公共卫生事件应急条例》、《国家突发公共卫生事件应急预案》和《国家突发公共事件医疗卫生救援应急预案》相继颁布实施以来,全国各级疾病预防控制机构在卫生行政部门的领导下,认真贯彻落实国家卫生法律法规和条例,不断加强卫生防病应急体系建设,卫生防病应急工作已逐步纳入到法制化、科学化和规范化轨道,提高了突发公共卫生事件应急处理能力和管理水平。但随着经济发展和社会进步,进一步完善卫生应急管理,提高     

Health indicators and public health planning

Health indicators are considered to be fundamental to the public health planning process. To a large extent, programs and services relevancy depends on indicators used for planning. Based upon a review of the literature, criteria for judging the acceptability of available indicators are presented and described. The principal health indicators developed for planning health programmes and services are then analysed in terms of these criteria. The dimensions of health measured by the various indicators are noted together with the relevancy and limits of each group of indicators analysed.     

Obesity, stigma and public health planning

Given the rise in obesity rates in North America, concerns aboutobesity-related costs to the health care system are being stressedin both the popular media and the scientific literature. Withsuch constant calls to action, care must be taken not to increasestigmatization of obese people, particularly of children. Whilethere is much written about stigma and how it is exacerbated,there are few guidelines for public health managers and practitionerswho are attempting to design and implement obesity preventionprograms that minimize stigma. We examine stigmatization ofobese people and the consequences of this social process, anddiscuss how stigma is manifest in health service provision.We give suggestions for designing non-stigmatizing obesity preventionpublic health programs. Implications for practice and policyare discussed.