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Epidemiology and Public Health

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Epidemiology and Public Health
Soledad Blanco
West Coast University

Most people when asked about Public Health automatically associate it with Public Clinics, or providing hands-on health care to the community. Not until recently I was one of those people; however, after exploring my local health department, State of Florida Health Department, Center for Disease Control and many other websites, I discovered that Public Health is involved in every aspect of our daily lives.
Public Health is first and foremost all about prevention. They have developed many vaccinations and have required all children to receive certain immunizations prior to starting school, they also investigate disease outbreaks to prevent further contamination and have implemented many prevention procedures. Public Health is involved in our daily living activities from making sure our waters are safe for when we brush our teeth, to monitoring the ocean waters for when we go to the beach. It is also accredited with the development of policy and procedures that prevent disease and promote good health, they promote healthy lifestyles through education, and they conduct research for diseases. They provide the community with healthy living conditions. During the 20th century, Public Health accomplished many great things. They have able to control the spread of many infectious diseases, they are responsible for adding fluoride to drinking water, and they also developed motor-vehicle safety policies and many other preventive measures.
Public Health elaborates on much different health related issues. So what is Public Health? The classic definition of Public Health is defined as "The science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical health and efficiency through organized community efforts for the sanitation of the environment, the control of community infections, the

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