Public Health and EMS

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What is public health?

Public health can be a very wide-ranging field that can include injury prevention, disease surveillance, and management of underserved populations. The American Public Health Association is a group based in Washington, DC, that advocates for and promotes the topic of public health. The group currently has 34 topics listed on their website, of which they are currently focused. The subjects affecting public health are constantly evolving based on the needs of the population. Some topics that are constant, such as public health accreditation and standards, and other topics are directly related to current affairs. At the time of this publication, relevant issues listed include pandemic infectious disease, immigrant health, gun violence, and prescription drug overdose. Emergency medical services (EMS) and emergency care are areas that are typically a constant in the whole of public health.

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How is public health related to EMS?

Because emergency services are the initial access to care in certain situations, EMS is often the face of public health on a day-to-day basis. The state and city health departments can also serve as the regulatory organization for EMS providers and their respective agencies. States will typically have minimum standards designated by the state EMS offices for the systems within their area. The state EMS offices are then responsible to address issues or complaints regarding the established standards.

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Describe the types of prevention that public health workers manage.

The goal of primary prevention is to intervene on a public health issue before it has a chance to develop. Examples of primary prevention are vaccinations, working to address risky behaviors such as smoking, or prohibiting substances known to cause harm. Secondary prevention is the concept of screening during the early phases of a disease outbreak, ideally before any signs or symptoms are noted. Treatments or behavior modifications are initiated in order to prevent the disease from progressing to more morbid stages. Public health assessments under secondary prevention would include blood pressure measurements for hypertension, mammograms for breast cancer, or blood testing for prostate cancer. Tertiary prevention moves into the treatment phase, attempting to limit further progression once the disease is already known to be present. Examples of tertiary prevention are rehabilitation from damage that the illness has already caused and screening for the potential future problems from the known disease, such as cardiac or stroke rehabilitation programs.

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