Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Center for Local Public Health Services Missouri’s Public Health System

What is Public Health? Public health is often confused with health care. A health care provider diagnoses and treats individual patients. Public health professionals develop plans of action to improve the health status of the entire population.

Focus of public health has changed over the years. Early efforts directed toward disease prevention. Expanded insurance coverage to most people has allowed public health to focus on its principal roles of protecting the public and promoting health. Public Health cont.

Effective Public Health System Assesses and promotes health and safety Prevents or minimizes the occurrence of diseases and injuries Plans, prepares and responds to natural and manmade disasters Identifies barriers, and facilitates access to primary and preventive health care, and Enforces public health laws and regulations

CDC’s Ten Essential Services Monitor health status to identify and solve community health problems Diagnose and investigate health problems and health hazards in the community Inform, educate and empower people about health issues Mobilize community partnerships and actions to identify and solve health problems

Essential Services cont. Develop policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts Enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety Link people to needed personal health services and assure the provision of health care when otherwise unavailable

Essential Services cont. Assure a competent public and personal health care workforce Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility and quality of personal and population based health services Research for new insights and innovative solutions to health problems

Public Health System vs. the Health System (medicine) Public Health System Primary focus on population Emphasis on disease prevention and health promotion that shape a community’s overall health profile Health System Primary focus on individual Emphasis on diagnosis and treatment

Health System Hospital delivers the baby Public Health System Regulates the hospital to ensure safety

Public health is credited with adding 25 years to the life expectancy of people in the United States in this century. Missouri’s Public Health System

Great Public Health Achievements Vaccinations Motor-vehicle safety Safer workplaces Safer and healthier foods Decline in deaths from coronary heart disease and stroke United States –

Healthier mothers and babies Fluoridation of drinking water Recognition of tobacco use as a health hazard Control of infectious diseases Great Public Health Achievements cont. United States –

Public health’s disease control efforts have led to a sharp decline in deaths from infectious diseases since Missouri’s Public Health System

However, as these infectious diseases decreased, chronic diseases increased. Missouri’s Public Health System

“Health is worth more than learning.” -Thomas Jefferson ( ) letter to his cousin John Garland Jefferson, June 11, 1790

Top Five Leading Causes of Death, Missouri 2005

Tobacco Use Proportion of Current Smokers Among Adults Aged 18 Years and Older, Missouri and the U.S.,

Tobacco Use Proportion of Current Smokers Among Adults Aged 18 Years and Older, by Region, Missouri, 2006 Northwest: 23.4% Kansas City Area: 20% Southwest: 23.8% Northeast: 26.6% Central: 31.1% St. Louis Area: 19.8% Southeast: 29.7%

Obesity Proportion of Obesity Among Adults Aged 18 Years and Older, Missouri and the U.S.,

Obesity Northwest: 28.6% Kansas City Area: 28.3% Southwest: 26.7% Northeast: 30.5% Central: 25.1% St. Louis Area: 23% Southeast: 32.6% Proportion of Obesity Among Adults Aged 18 Years and Older, by Region, Missouri, 2006

Core Public Health General Revenue Funding Per Capita Fiscal Year

Local Public Health Agency Revenue Growth (Local Revenues vs. State Core Public Health GR Funding)

Missouri Public Health and You In action every day, in every county of the state Assures our children are immunized Puts plans in place for emergency and disaster management Detects and curtails infectious diseases Reduces effects of diseases like diabetes and asthma Monitors drinking water quality, and Helps keep restaurant food safe