Introduction to Public Health and Health Agencies

Vocabulary flashcards covering core public health principles, government and non-government agencies, health definitions, and determinants of population health.

Public Health

A series of actions, activities, policies, and laws focused on people that aim to prevent disease across a population.

Epidemiology

The study of disease on a population.

Population Health

Health outcomes and efforts aimed at changing or impacting the overall health of a specific defined population or community.

Clinical Medicine

Individual-focused care provided in a facility by medical professionals, aimed at treating, curing, or rescuing sick individuals.

Assessment

A core public health function involving measurements, investigating disease outbreaks, and collecting health data.

Assurance

A core public health function that ensures public safety by checking compliance with health laws, inspections, and standard safety practices.

World Health Organization

The leading independent, international public health agency in the world that provides global health guidance based on solid science.

Governmental Agencies

Health organizations funded through taxes that have the authority to enforce laws and serve an entire population regardless of individual tax contribution.

Department of Health and Human Services

The primary federal agency for public health in the United States, representing 25% of the federal budget.

Food and Drug Administration

A federal agency under HHS that ensures food safety as well as the effectiveness of drugs and medical devices.

National Institutes of Health

A federal agency under HHS that conducts health research and awards grants to outside scientists to improve national health.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The primary federal agency focused on preventing disease, which originally grew out of a group of scientists studying malaria.

Quasi-Governmental Agencies

Organizations that receive some government funding and official mandates but operate independently, such as the American Red Cross and National Science Foundation.

Non-Governmental Organizations

Health organizations that receive no government funding and rely on donations or philanthropy to address specific health concerns.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

A philanthropic non-governmental organization that uses private funds to research and improve global health issues.

Healthy People 2030

A U.S. government program that releases yearly reports to track progress toward national goals for promoting longer, healthy lives.

Health

A complete state of physical, mental, and social well-being, rather than merely the absence of disease.

Disease

Any deviation from a complete state of physical, mental, and social health.

Disability

A deviation from health that impairs normal function or interferes with an individual's ability to participate in normal activities.

Physical Factors

Environmental and built elements—such as geographic location, housing ventilation, and proximity to care—that impact health.

Individual Behavior

Personal health choices made by an individual that ultimately determine health outcomes within a community.