Case Study: Massachusetts Health Care

The ten essential public health services explain public health activities that communities should perform. Moreover, they offer the framework for the National Public Health Performance Standards Program. Therefore, the following are the ten essential public health services. First, the public health systems have the role to monitor the health status, determine and solve problems in the community. Citing Riegelman (2010), technology is useful in the interpretation and communication of data. There should be an accurate and periodic assessment of the health status of the community. Second, the public health systems should diagnose and investigate the health problems and hazards in the community. Diagnostic services should be available including the laboratory capacity (Riegelman, 2010). The public health systems should identify and investigate health threat on time. Third, the public health systems should inform, educate and empower the community with information on health issues. It would be appropriate to have health education and promotion partnerships within the community.

Fourth, the public health systems should mobilize community partnerships to determine and find solutions to health problems. According to Riegelman (2010), the existence of formal and informal partnerships promotes health improvement. Fifth, public health systems should develop policies and plans to aid the health efforts of individuals and community. The development of policies will protect and guide public health practices (Riegelman, 2010). Sixth, the systems should enact laws and regulations that ensure safety. The systems should provide education on laws and regulations. Moreover, there should be support for compliance. Seventh, the systems should link people to the required personal health services and provide care in situations when they are unavailable. Eighth, the systems should assure competent workforce. The workforce should maintain the public health standards. The ninth service is the evaluation of the effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of the health service. The evaluation process should be an ongoing activity (Riegelman, 2010). The tenth service is performing research for innovative solutions and new insights into health problems. This includes identifying and monitoring innovative solutions to enhance public health.

The case study chosen for this assignment is the Massachusetts case study. From the ten essential services, the one that the case study fits into is linking people to the required personal services and assure the delivery of health care. The public health service requires the identification of individuals with barriers to health care. Similarly, the system advocates for effective entry into a coordinated system of clinical care. The case study fits into this public health service since it describes transportation initiatives on public health and vulnerable populations. The Healthy Transportation Compact aims to facilitate decisions regarding transportation (Health Impact Project, n.d.). These decisions will balance the needs of people using the transport system, improve their mobility and health. Moreover, the transportation decisions focus on supporting a cleaner environment and creating a sustainable community. The Healthy Transportation Compact functions by using agencies who identify potential HIA targets and make transportation decisions. The Compact commences the HIA program for transport administrators, developers, and planners that attempt to attain positive health outcomes (Health Impact Project, n.d.). Therefore, linking people to required personal health service would require transportation and other enabling services.

 

References

Health Impact Project. (n.d.). Case study: Massachusetts. Retrieved on 22 Apr. 17, from http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/analysis/hip/hip-case-study-massachusetts

Riegelman, R. K. (2010). Public health 101: Healthy people–healthy populations. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett.

 
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