Health has been a major concern throughout the world. Day by day new scientific researches and experiments are conducted in the health sciences in order to overcome the health risks globally. Likewise, the Public Health is one of the fields from science that ensures the safety and protection of health of communities by using education, new health policies and researches that address disease and injury prevention. It promotes and safeguards the health of general public in the surrounding. As the doctor diagnoses and treats the patients while the public health workers work to prevent the people from getting any disease or injuries at first place. At the same time, it is the duty of the public health workers to encourage the individuals to adopt healthy habits in order to live healthy. It is a vast field that demands a scientific research in order to convince and educate the people about their health. There are various factors that can cause serious health problems for the people. Therefore, people need to know about those factors such as risks of drugs and smoking.
In the current world, different countries have recognized the significance of public health in decreasing the incidence of disease, incapacity, and aging effects and other mental and physical health related issues. Public health programs provide different health promoting facilities like vaccination. Realizing the importance of Public Health, it is taught as a subject in different educational institutes. It is about the health of millions of people, therefore, it is taught as an interdisciplinary subject. Likewise, La Salle University is one of them. It offers a degree of Public Health in different levels. As a result, this research paper aims to study the importance of Public Health as a course, Public Health at La Salle, its quality and importance in the field. The paper relies on secondary sources in order to support the argument.
Background
It is already described that the focus of a public health is to overcome the increasing rates of health issues under certain health conditions and work for the promotion of health among communities from different backgrounds. There are such diseases which are preventable but due to carelessness of individuals, it exists in the world. However, Public Health program is designed to prevent the diseases and other health risks by using non-medical methods. For example, research has found that washing hands with a soap can prevent from many contagious diseases spreading in the world. Likewise, controlling the transfer of pathogens from person to person can control on diffusion of many contagious diseases even after the outbreak of a disease. Moreover, International agencies like World Health Organizations works for the promotion of public health globally. It ensures the programs working throughout the world including underdeveloped and developing countries. However, most of the countries have public health agencies at national level that takes the responsibility of health related issues in the country.
Likewise, the United States has the public health departments at different levels varying from state to local level. At the same time, there are some non-governmental organization which are working on health related concerns. As a result, they identified the need of Public health as a subject to be taught at the University. Moreover, the students coming from Public Health will be able to run these organizations at different levels. The designed courses under Public Health degree will be able to enhance the required skills of the students for Public Health field. The public health courses will engage the students in various programs that would enhance the considerate skills and critical thinking among them.
Public Health as a course
Public Health as a degree consists different programs related to population health and other medical science topics that covers in depth information related to different health outcomes, health indicators, health equity, intervention and policies that address different health issues. It includes both theory and practical training in the fields that are relevant to the Public Health such as nutrition, microbiology, parasitology and physical education. However, the quality of a course depends on how many relevant subjects are covered. The primary objective of the Public health is to work for humanity. Soon after it is emerged as a field, it has controlled many serious health related issues. People around the globe are grateful to the health initiatives like vehicle safety laws, drugs control, family planning and safe drinking water programs all over the world.
Day by day, it comes up with different initiatives and programs that address the needs and demands of the communities across the world. The objectives of global public health programs are universal that focus the improved health conditions. The World Health Organization is working for all the under-developed, developing and developed member countries. New researches are conducted at the health sector that enhances the quality of the preventive measures. Moreover, on the basis of those researches, health practices and policies are enhanced throughout the world. The goals and objectives of the public health have long lasting positive impacts on people. Also, it promotes a healthy environment based on the practices support moral and ethical standards. It is the contribution of the public health professionals that the life expectancies are increased throughout the world. At the same time, the infant and child mortality rates are also decreased throughout the world. It has also reduced communicable diseases all over the world.
Public Health at La Salle University
La Salle is one of the renown universities in the United States. It offers various degrees for the students in multiple fields. Likewise, Public Health is one of them. La Salle University feels the importance of Public Health as an emerging degree that works for a healthy environment where all the human beings are physically and mentally fit. On its official, the University provides the details of the program. It claims that through this course, it prepares the students to work in different fields like health education, health programs and infection prevention initiatives at local level and also at global level. All of the programs are supposed to promote health and safety of the people that would enhance the wellbeing of the public. Moreover, the experts of Public Health also need strong management, communication and investigative skills along with the in-depth know of complex issues related to health. Focusing the demands of public health field La Salle has designed the courses for the degree of Public Health at Bachelor level. The University emphasizes on the skills development and knowledge enhancement of the students, which prepares them for the graduate studies and a career in the field of Public Health. Likewise, the University is contributing in the improvement the health and welfare of communities at local, national and international level through its students.
Furthermore, the University recognizes the Public Health as an interdisciplinary program that includes the variety of topic from informatics to health policies. At the same time, it also enhances the knowledge of the students by covering the needs of helpless communities. It needs more practical work in comparison to the theory, therefore field trips and community work experiences are necessarily included in the program. Likewise, students gain the advance level knowledge that helps them to understand the current health trends and concerns. Based on experience, they are able to address those issues.
In addition, the University also focuses that each student should be able to apply the knowledge in the practical field in different settings of Public Health. It is a broader field and students have a lot of options to choose from. The University also offers a Master’s degree in Public Health. It is an advance degree in the same field, which increases the opportunities for those students who are eager to enhance their knowledge and skills in the particular field (“Public Health”, N.p). The higher degree of Public health also emphases on the health discrepancies faced by urban population. Realizing the need of communalities, students unite with the community members and other stakeholders to evaluate the health programs. It is an advance degree, thus it includes practical engagement and emphasize on the health demands and needs in the community. Using their knowledge based skills students help those communities who are considered vulnerable in terms of health.
The additional strength of the Public health program at La Salle University is that it connects the students with different organizations and agencies that work for public health (“Public Health”, N.p). The faculty advisor helps the students to get affiliated to those programs. Moreover, in this regard the authorities also focus the interests of the students. Thus, the students get a chance to work for underserved and vulnerable communities in the country. Here, they bring the information, skills and approaches expanded through the program, and use these practices to meet the needs and demands of those communities.
Bachelors and Master’s Degree of Public Health at La Salle
The Modern practices of the Public health aim to enhance the quality of life by preventing and treating the diseases and mental health problems. Therefore, they include professionals from different fields. It consists of epidemiologists, doctors, economists, nurses and data managers. These officers work in a team. Therefore, the public health students also required some management and team work skills in order to fit in the team. In La Salle University, the department of Public Health is run under the School of Nursing and Health Sciences along with the other different sub departments. On its website the University puts a brief introduction of the School in order to attract more number of students. It claims that all the departments within the School of Nursing and Health Sciences has earned a name within the University and outside of the University as well. On the introduction page of the website also highlights the vision and mission of the School and all the departments running under the School. The mission says that it provides an education that is based on scientifically-proved evidence and prepare the students for different services by making them proficient in advocacy and evidence-based practice. Likewise, the vision and mission is also aligned with the vision of the University as a whole that is based on values. Moreover, the School of Nursing and Health Sciences sets its vision as the implementation of the subject or course based on the health demands of the people that consumes the social, political and health sector resources help the community who is in need. In addition, the research, scholarship, and other programs give an opportunity to the community to get education in the field (“School of Nursing”, N.p). On the basis of mission and vision, different goals are set that direct all the departments to run the educational system.
Two programs are offered in Public Health department; Bachelor and Master Program. Vast multi-disciplinary curricula are designed for both courses. However, Master is an advance degree of the department that can be challenging for those students who had changed majors at bachelor level. At the same time, Master’s program is a golden opportunity for the students who want to enhance their skills in the same field. The School manages to engage the maximum number of students in voluntarily services and research works that focus on helping the people.to It also facilitates the students to develop their critical thing and logical reasoning skill as both are the mandatory skills to conduct a research related health issues. Furthermore, other socializing skills are also built because public health services mostly based on direct interactions with the individuals. Therefore, students need to learn strong communication skills and values that assist these young professionals in providing care to the needy and poor people locally, regionally and globally (“School of Nursing”, N.p).
Likewise, the website of the University is well-maintained and highly informative. It has even set mission, vision and goals for the different departments separately. It makes the programs more efficient and highly goal-oriented. By achieving the goals of each program, overall goal of university is achieved. As per the bachelor program of Public health aims to deliver knowledge on public health to the students from diverse fields by providing them the tools that reduce the number of disease and spread the knowledge about good ways of staying healthy. Staying healthy contributes to the development of communities in any field because health is more important. In any practical field, theory is equally important. If a person gets advance knowledge in his or her field of study, then it would be easier for him or her apply that information in the practical field. Therefore, an individual can get the core concepts, values and applications of a program by studying the history and philosophy of that program. La Salle values the history and philosophical concepts of public health, and it has incorporated it as course in the program of public health.
In addition, research methodology is an important subject in the field of social sciences. Without research public health is incomplete. Thus, the bachelor program of public health at La Salle plays an essential role in developing the research skills of the students. It provides methods and techniques of data collection, application and analysis. Moreover, it also offers the evidence-based methodologies that are used in field researches and experiments. Moreover, different health issues from contemporary world are brought to the class, so that students get proper awareness. It will help them the to apply the learned principles in the practical field. Moreover, students are also informed about the legal and ethical standard that will help them in their professional experiences. Getting awareness about the laws will help them to follow those standards in the practical field. Hence, it can be seen that the bachelor program for public health is very comprehensive and it covers all the aspects that are required in the field of public health. Moreover, another positive thing about the program at La Salle is that it just not focuses the health issues in the United States but throughout the world.
The strengths of the field of public health at La Salle is described in more detail. Upon overviewing the official site of the university, a lot of information is gained. Moreover, the Alumni section of the University also presents the details of its successful students who have made it to the professional field. It is an achievement for the University that its students are contributing to the wellbeing of different communities throughout the world. Moreover, they are promoting the advanced methods of disease prevention programs and also helping the communities to overcome the communal disease. The information from different sources of the University shows that public health department follows the global trends of public health and it is designed as per the goals of public health.
However, few things are missing at University of La Salle. The 21st century demands more advance level of education whereas the department of Public health at La Salle offers only two degrees. It needs incorporate MS and PHD degree in Public Health. At the same time, it also needs a research center specifically for Public Health. A research center will give a chance to the students conduct more number of experiments regarding the public health.
Conclusion
In conclusion, health is a main focus for human beings throughout the world. Many researches and tests are conducted in the health sciences in order to reduce the health issues. In such situations, Public Health emerged as a leading field that ensures the safety and protection of health of communities by consuming education, new health policies and researches that addresses diseases and promotes injury preventions. Nowadays Public health is taught as subject in different educational institutes that prepare students for the practical field of public health. La Salle University feels the importance of Public Health as an emerging degree that works for a healthy environment where all the human beings are physically and mentally fit. the University recognizes the Public Health as an interdisciplinary program that includes the variety of topic from informatics to health policies. In La Salle University, the department of Public Health is run under the School of Nursing and Health Sciences along with the other different sub departments. Two programs are offered in Public Health department; Bachelor and Master Program. However, the University does not offer post graduate degrees in the field. Incorporating higher degrees will enhance the value of the department.
Works Cited
"Public Health (MPH)”. La Salle University Philadelphia, Pa.." Lasalle.edu. N. p., 2019. Web. 23 Apr. 2019.
" School Of Nursing And Health Sciences • University Catalog 2018-19 ." Lasalle.edu. N. p., 2019. Web. 23 Apr. 2019.
