Public health, which includes health assessment, policy development, and assurance, concerns protecting and enhancing community health. The CDC’s 10 essential services are the cornerstone of health operations. The essay will analyze the relationship between essential services and the fundamental functions of public health, highlighting their real-life manifestations in overcoming health disparities and promoting healthier communities.
The Three Core Functions of Public Health
The Institute of Medicine (IOM), in its significant report, “The Future of Public Health,” records the three essential functions of public health: assessment, policy development, and assurance. The functions include the establishment of public health interventions and projects. The 10 Essential Services, created by the CDC, establish these functions by providing detailed activities and systems to accomplish determined public health points. (Hacker et al., 2022). The primary function of public health is assessment, which means collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data to understand the population’s health condition. It matches with essential services such as monitoring health status, investigating health problems, and evaluating health services. Health agencies monitor disease rates, environmental factors, and social determinants to determine health risks and choose interventions (Castrucci, 2021). They diagnose health problems and provide evidence-based policies based on epidemiological studies and assessments. Continuous assessment measures the effect of population health programs on public health.
Policy development, the second core function of public health, involves developing evidence-based policies to address health issues and promote equity. It has consistency with critical services such as health education, information, and empowerment, as well as policy development and regulation enforcement to promote health (Turnock, 2022). Health agencies carry out communication, public outreach, and advocacy to bring health-facilitating policies in place, e.g., issues related to social determinants such as healthcare access and housing. Agencies use policy development to develop frameworks for interventions and resource allocation to improve population health results.
Accessibility is the third core function of public health, in which all essential services are assured. It corresponds to essential services, including people’s connection to healthcare, the development of human capital, and the exploration of new health solutions. Agencies aim to bridge the access gaps in health care, target marginalized groups in particular, and provide training for the workforce to deal with complex health issues successfully (Turnock, 2022). Public health research produces evidence, discovers the best practices, and influences decisions to improve health outcomes.
Operationalizing Core Functions and Essential Services in Public Health Practice
Implementing the 10 Essential Services within the context of the three core functions demands cooperation, coordination, and integration within the public health systems, organizations, and partners. Public health practitioners and leaders should emphasize strategic planning, resource allocation, and performance management as they ensure the delivery of quality public health services and the achievement of population health goals (Birkhead et al., 2021). Through integrating the Essential Services with the core functions of assessment, policy development, and assurance, public health can adequately respond to current and emerging health challenges, promote health equity, and improve people’s health.
Conclusion
The 10 Essential Services of Public Health are closely related to the three core functions of assessment, policy development, and assurance. The combined effect of these principles forms a complete structure for guiding public health practice, policy development, and program implementation. Operationalizing the essential services in the context of core functions allows public health agencies and practitioners to meet health needs, achieve health equity, and enhance population health outcomes.
References
Birkhead, G. S., Morrow, C. B., Pirani, S., & Turnock, B. J. (2021). Essentials of public health. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Castrucci, B. C. (2021). The “10 Essential Public Health Services” Is the Common Framework Needed to Communicate About Public Health. American Journal of Public Health, 111(4), 598–599. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2021.306189
Hacker, K., Auerbach, J., Ikeda, R., Philip, C., & Houry, D. (2022). Social Determinants of Health—An Approach Taken at CDC. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 28(6), 589–594. https://doi.org/10.1097/phh.0000000000001626
Turnock, B. J. (2022). Essentials of Public Health. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
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