Most of us understand this basic premise about public health. But, here are some facts about public health you might not know. Now’s a good time to test yourself on your knowledge of how public health systems work.

1. Public health systems are typically divided into three major categories: epidemiology, biostatistics and health services. The health services arena is the one most of us are most familiar with.
2. Subfields of these major categories include environmental, social, behavioral and occupational health are subfields of the major categories.
3. The focus of public health intervention should always be the prevention of disease before the treatment of it.
4. The UN’s World Health Organization is the world’s most recognized health organization that seeks to improve public health throughout the world.
5. The head of the public health system in the US is the Surgeon General.
6. In 2000, the US government spent $4500 per capita on public health.
7. In contrast, in many African nations, government spending on public health is less than $10 per person.
8. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia is one of the most widely recognized public health organizations. Many people do not realize that they work on health problems all over the world – not just US health problems.
9. One of the earliest examples of a public health system was during the Roman times, when a system for disposing of diversion of human waste was developed in order to prevent the population from disease.
10. One of the biggest accomplishments of worldwide public health programs is immunizations, and the eradication of diseases like polio because of immunization.
11. One of the first examples of immunization came as early as 100 BC in China. Children were “inoculated” against smallpox by putting the pus from a lesion of an infected individual into a scratch on their arm to prevent them from contracting the disease.
12. Another example of early public health programs was in the 14th century during the “Black Death” in Europe. Officials found that they could stem the spread of the disease by burning portions of the cities where infestations had been so prevalent. We now know that the disease was rodent borne. So, burning the cities killed off the infestations of rats that were spreading the disease.
13. The idea of quarantining those with infectious diseases came about during the medieval period. This was also an early example of a public health measure.
14. Even the development of regular garbage collection programs as cities grew is an example of a public health program. Scientists quickly discovered how dangerous garbage was to public health.
15. One of the primary reasons that average life expectancy across much of the world has increased so dramatically in the last few years is the development of public health systems, which have brought vaccinations, public health departments and health education programs to the masses.
16. Today’s public health departments focus their efforts on broadening public health’s reach through education in addition to the work they’ve always performed. For example, newer public health programs often educating the public about risky behaviors, such as obesity, alcoholism and unsafe sex. These programs seek to reduce the number of health issues related to behavior.

Public health systems, particularly how they vary throughout the world, are fascinating. It’ amazing to read about how some of the earliest developments in public health came about, and how these have grown into a worldwide system of protecting the public from health threats and preventing disease.

It’s certain that our public health systems are not perfect. And, in many countries, they are far from adequate in terms of meeting the needs of the public they serve. But, its still amazing to see how far the world has come in terms of understanding health problems and protecting the community from them.

The blogs below are listed by year and in order of the month in which they were created.

2009

1. Lyme Green Australia: A 27-year-old Australian who was misdiagnosed endured a decade’s worth of symptoms. This blog is an effort to educate the public about Lyme disease and increase awareness in the fight against this tick-borne infectious disease (June).
2. End the Neglect: The Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases is a major advocacy and resource mobilization initiative of the Sabin Vaccine Institute dedicated to raising the awareness, political will, and funding necessary to control and eliminate the most common neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) (August).
3. Health Alerts: Yeshiva University, located in New York City, offers a blog that focuses on contagion and prevention, high risk groups and guides for illnesses among the general public and managers. Victor Schwartz, MD, is the university dean of students and associate professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavior Science, Albert Einstein College of Medicine (August).
4. Pollution Blog: The Pollution Blog highlights cleanup work at the world’s worst polluted places and tracks worldwide efforts to bring an end to life-threatening pollution, one site at a time. Blacksmith Institute founder Richard Fuller is your guide (October).
5. Be Active Your Way Blog: Kay Loughrey, from the Office of Disease Prevention & Health Promotion (ODPHP), within the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services hosts this blog with the purpose of stimulating dialog among professionals who work on Physical Activity promotion about how they can encourage Americans to get the physical activity they need based on the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (November).
6. Wellcome Trust Blog: As a global charity committed to realizing the full potential of biomedical research to improve health, the Trust funds a wide variety of people and activities – from new PhD students to senior researchers, from genetics to neuroscience, from museums to plays, documentaries and films (December).

2010

7. Evoke Blog: EVOKE is a ten-week crash course in changing the world. Tackle topics like food security, energy, water security, disaster relief, poverty, pandemics, education, global conflict, human rights and healthy living through a site that places urgent calls for innovation. EVOKE was developed by the World Bank Institute, the learning and knowledge arm of the World Bank Group, and directed by alternate reality game master Jane McGonigal (January).
8. Sarah Boseley’s Global Health Blog: Sponsored by the UK Guardian news site, this blog focuses on global health issues such as AIDS and HIV, health and chronic disease and diseases such as malaria. Sarah Boseley has won a number of awards for her work on HIV/Aids in Africa, including the One World Media Award (twice) and the European section of the Lorenzo Natali prize, awarded by the European Commission(January).
9. Let’s Move: Let’s Move! is a comprehensive initiative, launched by the First Lady, dedicated to solving the problem of obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams. Combining comprehensive strategies with common sense, Let’s Move! is about putting children on the path to a healthy future during their earliest months and years (February).
10. Canadian Stem Cell Blog: The Canadian Stem Cell Foundation was established in 2008 to champion the importance of stem cell science for the health of all humanity. As a Canadian organization, they also are intent on building Canada’s role as a leader and innovator in stem cell science (March).
11. R.A.R.E. Blog: The RARE Blog is an important part of improving and saving the lives of the more than 20 million children in the USA who are affected with rare diseases. The RARE Blog is a place where diverse people come together to share resources, post notices, celebrate successes, and ask for support when needed (March).
12. Safety Net Matters: This site hosts blog posts created by, for and about safety net health systems and the patients they serve. Safety net health systems are full partners in ensuring the successful implementation of national health reform (March).
13. Creating Healthy Organizations: In another perspective on public health, workplace consultant Graham Lowe draws on his new book, Creating Healthy Organizations, to challenge you to think about business success in sustainable human terms. Graham writes about how healthy organizations take a holistic, integrated and long-term perspective to forge stronger links between people and performance (May).
14. Humanosphere: KPLU’s Tom Paulson, a reporter with decades of experience covering science, medicine and global health in the US and beyond, reports from Seattle about a global effort to beat back poverty and illness in the poorest corners of the world. Humanosphere serves as your go-to source for news, conversation and analysis about this effort as it unfolds (May).
15. Diabetes UK Blogs: This site, sponsored by Diabetes UK, provides a variety of insights into personal diabetes issues. The blogs published on this site are the personal views, experiences and opinions of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect those of Diabetes UK (June).
16. ParticipACTION: ParticipACTION is the national voice of physical activity and sport participation in Canada. Through leadership in communications, capacity building and knowledge exchange, the authors of this blog hope to inspire and support Canadians to move more (June).
17. Flu News Blog: The Flu News Blog is a simple guide to some of the freshest and most useful influenza-related news stories from around the world. This blog has been updated with consistency since July 2010 (July).
18. CDC’s Health Out Loud: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) produced this blog about best practices and questions about health communication, social marketing, and health marketing in 2010 (August).
19. kvorganics: This is a preventive blog that focuses on organic, natural, holistic, green and sustainable lifestyles. The blog author is a wife, mother, daughter, sister, relative and friend who struggles with the same things in life that most people do and “on whom life’s proverbial rains fall like everyone else” (September).
20. My Health LA: Bruce Greenstein, Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, and Rudy Macklin, Executive Director, Louisiana Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and Bureau of Minority Health Access, combine forces to produce a blog that focuses on the health of Louisiana residents (September).
21. PLOS Blogs: This is a new network for discussing science in public; covering topics in research, culture, and publishing. PLoS Blogs is different from other blogging networks, because it includes an equal mix of science journalists and scientists (September).
22. Daily Dose: This is a new consumer health blog produced by Boston.com. Author Deborah Kotz plans to cover all the pressing health issues you need to know about to help you improve not only your health but the overall quality of your life by relying on the medical experts here in the Boston area, home to some of the nation’s best hospitals (December).

2011

23. Dialogue 4 Health: This is a social network dedicated to creating healthy communities where people can live, work, and play. This group is collaborating to make the nation’s communities places where residents can obtain nutritious food, walk and bike safely, use public transportation and participate in shaping their community’s future. This is a Public Health Institute Web site (February).
24. Health.Data.Gov: This blog is so new that it contained only one entry when we discovered it, dated February 14th. HealthData.gov is a one-stop resource for the growing ecosystem of innovators who are turning data into new applications, services, and insights that can help improve health (February).
25. LiveWell Colorado: LiveWell Colorado is a nonprofit organization committed to reducing obesity in Colorado by promoting healthy eating and active living. In addition to educating and inspiring people to make healthy choices, LiveWell Colorado focuses on policy, environmental and lifestyle changes that remove barriers and increase access to healthy behaviors (February).

For the Android

1. Fast Food Calorie Counter: Know exactly how many calories you’re consuming when you give into fast food. This app tracks and provides data for almost 9000 menu items from 72 fast food restaurants. Track calories, fat fiber, carbs and protein.
2. Calorie Counter by FatSecret: This calorie counter is simple to use. It can also figure out the recommended daily calorie intake you need based on your weight and fitness goals. It has a bar code scanner to make finding foods really easy.
3. BMI Calculator: Calculate your Body Mass Index quickly and easily. Great for dieters.
4. Nutrition Tips: Get tips on making your food work for you.
5. Vitamins and Minerals: Help improve your nutrition by learning which vitamins and minerals do what, as well as learning which foods contain the ones you’re looking for.
6. Cancer Preventing Food: Learn the foods that have been linked to cancer prevention.
7. Control of Communicable Diseases Manual:This app includes the latest on identifying, managing, and preventing hundreds of infectious diseases, as well as public health news feeds and links to journal abstracts and citations. This is the most widely recognized reference for public health workers.
8. Pathology and Disease:This application is a great way to learn more about the diseases that are spreading in your area. It allows you to learn all about disease processes. This is a great application for all healthcare professionals.
9. Infectious Diseases:This application for your Android is a great teaching too for helping users learn more about communicable diseases.
10. Pandemic Flu Guide: This application will give you all the information you need to ensure you’re prepared in the event of a flu pandemic.
11. Health News: Get all the health news you need including alerts about disease outbreaks with this android app.

For the iPhone

12. WhereTraveller: Updates security wait times at airports, and provides information on your destination such as restaurants, entertainment and shopping, as well as airline and rental car agency phone numbers.
13. OmniFocus: This task management application allows you to create to do lists, as well as sync with documents on your desktop.
14. ExpenseTrkr: Perfect for tracking expenses while you travel, this app even has the ability to document receipts via the phone’s camera function. Great for keeping track of business expenses.
15. Outbreaks Near Me: This application is based on health map and is being used regularly by medical professionals to track the H1N1 flu outbreaks. The application was created by researchers at Children’s Hospital in Boston with help from MIT. This app is also available for the Android.
16. Influenza (H1N1) Tracker: Much like Swine Flu News Tracker, this application is specifically for informing about H1N1. This app breaks information down by country. However, within the US, you can also get it broken down by state, and includes the assessment level offered by the World Health Organization.
17. FDA Mobile: Information on this app comes directly from the US Food and Drug Administration. This application delivers disease outbreak information straight to your phone, as well as allowing you to search for other information from the FDA, such as food warnings and drug interactions. You can even find out when the latest medical treatments and devices get FDA approval.
18. CDC News Reader: This is all the outbreak information you need to know, straight from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. Essentially, it sends you the latest news reports coming out of the CDC, including disease outbreaks, emergency preparedness and travel notices.
19. PEPID Tracker:You’ll find out all the disease related information you need to know with this iPhone application. This is a great application for people who travel, because you can see what’s going on in the part of the world you’re traveling to. This application is also available for your Android.

1. Biostatisticians Purposes:  After learning about Public health for the bio- statistician purposes, you would be able to identify health cycles which can help in improving life saving measures with the inducement of life saving measures by the application of statistical procedures, techniques, and methodology. This helps in identifying health trends within community. Biostatics is also used in co-ordination with epidemiology.
2. For Health Education: By learning about public health you can help in preventing in spread of sexually transmitted diseases like as herpes and HIV/ AIDS, can help youth to understand ill effects of binge drinking. More you can develop community wide education programs that range from promoting health lifestyles for preventing disease and injury and having understanding of complex health issues.
3. Health Services Administration/Management: More you can have learning in public health as to develop capacity to work as in capacity of health service administration manager for handling database at school clinic, developing budgets for health department, creating policies for health insurance companies and directing hospital services. The area of health services administration includes politic, business and science in managing the human and fiscal resources to deliver effectively public health services.
4. Maternal and Child Health Purposes: The learning of public health helps you to access have information as access to birth control, promotion of health of a pregnant woman and unborn child. Professionals in maternal and child health can improve the public health delivery systems precisely in women, children and their families by medium of advocacy, education and research.
5. Nutrition Purposes: Learning public health helps you in understanding healthy eating and regular exercises. It also helps to understand effect of diet on the elder persons, tells about ill effects of overeating and over dieting and working nature of public health nutritionists.  Learning Public health also helps to understand how food and nutrients make an impression over wellness and lifestyle of population.

1. McNamara: He headed the World Bank during the period April 1968 to June 1981. Under his leadership, the World Bank focused attention towards targeted poverty reduction with special attention on health, food and education projects. World Bank is currently running a scholarship program under his name. Under his initiative World Bank funded five population projects as to carry out the five population projects in Family Welfare Program, a family planning cum Maternity and Child care (MCH) program.
2. Lee Jong WooK: Born on 12th April 1945 in Seoul, South Korea, he was the Director General of World Health Organization. He obtained the medical degree from Seoul National University. He was appointed into WHO in 1983, working on a number of projects involving the Global Programme for Vaccines and Immunizations and Stop Tuberculosis.  He was posthumously given the Hibiscus Cordon (Grand Cross) of the Order of Civil Merit by the South Korean government.
3. Dr. Mirta Roses Periago: She is an Argentinian epidemiologist and since 2009, she is a Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).   She received a medical degree in 1969 from Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, Aegentina and other qualifications like tropical medicine, public health, and epidemiology at other institutions in Argentina. She is the first female director of PAHO and better known for developing work philosophy and partnerships for defenses of health thus to achieve improvements in the health situations of the countries.
4. Sir Edwin Chadwick:  Born on January 24, 1800 he was an English social reformer known for his work to reform the Poor Laws and improve sanitary conditions and public health. He was firm believer of savior of public health with respect to saving money.  As his contributions to public health, he was Commissioner of Sewers in London from 1848 to 1849; he also decorated the seat of Commission of Sewers in London from 1848 to 1849.
5. Dr Margaret Chan: Born in 1947 in Hong Kong, she is a Director General of the World Health Organization since November 8 2006 and would decorate the seat till 2012. She is known for able handling of 1997 H5N1 avian influenza outbreak and 2003 SARS outbreak in Hong Kong.  She was credited for brining the epidemic under control by the slaughter of 1.5 million chickens in the region.

The online Masters in Public Health degree is wide with programs designed for health care professionals who can accommodate the demanding schedule. The curriculum is extensive and covers all public health competencies related to the public health sector. This curriculum will involve studies such as biostatistics, community health, environmental health, social and behavioral sciences among others. The online Masters in Public Health gives you a feel of the real world with adequate skills and knowledge that promotes community wellness, prevention of diseases and sound health. It is only through adequate training that you will be able to impact the community positively to make it a better place.

The Masters in Public Health is internationally recognized and is appropriate for people who are working in primary care trusts, health and local authorities and service providers related to the health sector such as hospitals and clinics.  The duration of an online MPH will, at most, take up two years with a flexible option of extending it to a 5year term. This will however apply only to its residents.

The advantage of the online MPH is that it saves a lot of time and energy. For the elderly learners, there is a sense of comfort that is advanced since they do not have to share common lecture halls with a much younger group. The online Masters in Public Health offers flexibility to its students as they can learn at their own convenient time. There is no strict timetable to be adhered to.

However, an online Masters in Public Health has its own limitations. It requires some form of discipline from the individual. It will also require that you be a good time manager so that you can plan your time appropriately. Unlike in the class set up, online does not have the provision for monitoring. You are your own responsibility.