HSC 315 Introduction to Public Health

HSC 315 Course Reflection

Name: Tony Lund

1. Begin by reviewing the course objectives and select any four to describe how the objectives were met in your newly developed understanding and awareness of public health.

a) 2c. Understand how public health can utilize health information and health communications to improve the health of populations.

Public health can utilize health information and health communications to improve the health of populations by collecting and compiling data, how that data is presented to the public, how the public will look at the data presented to it, how the date is combined to make health decisions, and how is the data used in the decision making process. The data is collected through many sources and is stored in databases where it can be analyzed. If a concern arises, a plan can be made to assist health professionals and then inform the public so that they are aware and can then make the appropriate decisions.

b) 3b. Explain the burden of communicable diseases.

The burden of communicable diseases is an analysis of the morbidity and mortality produced by the disease. Communicable diseases can be spread via organisms to parasites. Studying and learning about these infectors instills knowledge on how to prevent transmission, infection, and eradication to extend the lifespans of people around the world.

c) 3c. Identify the environmental issues affecting the population’s health.

Environmental issues affecting the population’s health can be broken down into three areas: unaltered, altered, and built. Unaltered, natural, environmental issues can include floods, wildfires, earthquakes, and volcanos; these issues have plagued mankind since the origin of the earth. Altered environmental issues are what people have created and introduced into the environment and these can include: industrial chemicals, elements mined from the earth, radiation from medical waste, biological waste, and the introduction of invasive species. Built environment is what humans have built and introduced into the environment such as: buildings, modes of travel, and the utilities that are consumed.

d) 5b. Define how public health can utilize health policy and law to improve the health of populations.

Public health can utilize health policy and law to improve the health of populations by addressing the access to and the quality and cost of health care, and by addressing the organizational and professional structures designed to deliver health care. Health care, public health, and bioethics all play a crucial part in improving the health of people by working together on issues such as: occupational health, drugs, highway safety, and the control of disease.

2. a. Describe your overall expectation for this class and

b. Provide three main takeaways from this course (nuggets of information or “A-ha moments”) you were not aware of before this class. They can be related to public health’s history or foundation, human services, workforce, policy development, insurance and institutions, integration of health care and public health, etc.

When I signed up for this class, I was under the assumption that public health covered rules and regulations for restaurants, monitoring of water whether it is waste or for consumption, and monitoring pollution levels being emitted from businesses. I was pleasantly surprised as to what all fell under the umbrella of public health. I did not know that public health dealt with health insurance. I enjoyed learning about One Health and all that encompasses it. Lastly, I was amazed at all the different occupations that were considered a part of public health.

3. Provide three ideas, facts, theories/models, and/or content (IFCT) that can be directly exercised or correlated into use for college, career, personal life, and future activities.

a) I really enjoyed learning about how socioeconomic statuses affect personal and public health. I plan on doing extra research about this topic for personal gain, and I would also like to have a job in which I can help work on this problem.

b) Out of all the models we learned about, the Stages of Change Model was the most interesting to me, especially with the example of cigarette smoking. I am a smoker and have tried quitting numerous times on my own, but this model gives a great outline to follow with great ideas to self-incorporate.

c) The team project was my most liked assignment of the course. I enjoyed collaborating with my teammates to make one big project. It involved the right amount of stress from scheduling, researching, and writing with the current world we live in. I found the information that we learned about to be quite shocking because I was unaware of most of the statistics that we had found.