Research the core functions and 10 essential services of public health. Provide an example of how these essential services are applied in practice. Use the “Core Functions and 10 Essential Services Worksheet” to complete this assignment.
Core Functions and 10 Essential Services Worksheet
Complete this worksheet by describing an example of how each essential service is applied in practice. Include a link and citation for each practice example.
| Core Function | Essential Service | Description | Practice Example |
| Assessment: Collecting and analyzing information about health problems. | Essential Service #1 | Monitor health status to identify community health problems. | Completing an annual immunization study to assess rates for a particular community (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). Diseases are monitored using surveillance and the data is reported to find a suitable treatment plan. |
| Essential Service #2 | Diagnose and investigate health problems and health hazards in the community. | Investigating food-borne diseases, broken sewage in the community and reporting findings for recommendations. | |
| Core Function | Essential Service | Description | Example |
| Policy Development: Broad-based consultations with stakeholders to weigh available information, decide which interventions are most appropriate, and ensure that the public interest is served by measures that are adopted. | Essential Service #3 | Inform, educate, and empower people about health issues. | Counsel people on safe sex practices to reduce sexually transmitted infections. Educate women on the need to undergo annual physical examination and how to perform breast test at home (CDC, 2014). |
| Essential Service #4 | Mobilize community partnerships to identify and solve health problems. | Participating in road fatality review to determine the causes of accidents and come up with strategies to maintain road safety (CDC, 2014). Partnering with the food industry to promote food security and safety. | |
| Essential Service #5 | Develop policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts. | Developing policies and plans to eradicate alcohol abuse in the community. Such policies may include the introduction of smoke-free schools and restaurants (CDC, 2014). | |
| Core Function | Essential Service | Description | Example |
| Assurance: Promoting and protecting public interests through programs, events, campaigns, regulations, and other strategies, and making sure that necessary services are provided to reach agreed-upon goals. | Essential Service #6 | Enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety. | Enforcing existing environmental health laws concerning garbage disposal, noise, hygiene, and school safety (CDC, 2014). In case someone suspects that a child is being abused or neglected by a guardian, measures are taken as dictated by the law to ensure child safety. |
| Essential Service #7 | Link people to needed personal health services and assure the provision of health care when otherwise unavailable. | Offer case management services for persons living with HIV to help them deal with the condition. Connect parents and students to healthcare services when unavailable (CDC, 2014). | |
| Essential Service #8 | Assure a competent public health and personal health care workforce. | Ensure employees understand their duties and provide mandatory orientation programs where new employees acquire the skills needed to offer quality service (CDC, 2014). Job training can take months, depending on a training program. | |
| Essential Service #9 | Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-based health services. | Conducting health checks on ongoing treatment plans to assess their effectiveness, such as increasing the rate of foot ulcer checks in Diabetes education (CDC, 2014). | |
| Essential Service #10 | Research for new insights and innovative solutions to health problems. | Investigating new systems for sewage disposal to gauge their usefulness. The current food service science can be used during the inspection process (CDC, 2014). Putting more efforts to find solutions for community health problems by participating in programs that promote hygiene such as HANDS Study. |
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014). The public health system and the 10 essential public health services.