Public health careers are incredibly varied, but come down to one key tenet: protecting the health of the population. Public health programs exist at the community, national, and global levels. The cornerstone of public health is the field of epidemiology, which is the study of patterns of infection and disease in a population. Where I work, we call epidemiologists disease detectives. There are Bachelors-, Masters-, Ph.D. and clinician-level epidemiologists. Epidemiologists may work in food-borne infection outbreaks, emerging infectious diseases, or even environmental health. Surveillance is another area of public health that looks clo
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Public health careers are incredibly varied, but come down to one key tenet: protecting the health of the population. Public health programs exist at the community, national, and global levels. The cornerstone of public health is the field of epidemiology, which is the study of patterns of infection and disease in a population. Where I work, we call epidemiologists disease detectives. There are Bachelors-, Masters-, Ph.D. and clinician-level epidemiologists. Epidemiologists may work in food-borne infection outbreaks, emerging infectious diseases, or even environmental health. Surveillance is another area of public health that looks closely at infection and disease, but with systematic, continuous collection of data in order to determine trends. It helps determine if a particular infection or disease in increasing, decreasing, or staying the same. For example, the National Immunization Survey in the United States determines the percentage of children receiving each of the recommended vaccinations each year. Related to this is public health informatics which is the management of health data, and the intersection between technology and public health practice. All of this health information needs to be communicated to the public and that is usually done through public health communicators and health educators. Public health communications can include development of messages and content, working with news media, and training medical professionals on how to talk with patients about specific topics. Health education is usually focused on a specific health concern and aims to increase awareness and knowledge about a particular health topic. All public health programs requires strategies and management, and that is where public health services administration comes in. This can range from managing programs and projects, to contracts and grants, to resources and supplies. There are also health care providers who work in public health facilities such as doctors, dentists, nurses, just to name a few. Often these professionals are providing medical care to people who are not able to get private health care or live in an area where medical resources and staff are scarce.
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Master of Hospital Administration (Maharashtra)