H1N1
Unless one has been in hiding the last week no doubt you have been inundated with information regarding the H1N1 flu virus that has been seen in various pockets of the U.S. It seems like every day there is a more information, but as of this writing it appears (and not that the emphasis is on appears) that the flu is not as bad as been feared. Nonetheless, the U.S. is moving forward with its plans to implement strategies to deal with this potential pandemic.
For those of us in health education and public health this has been a fascinating time. Removing the human side of the issues (deaths, illness, etc.) and looking at this from strictly a public health issue this has been a wonderful case study on how to deal with an emergency. For those in educational settings this is well worth time talking about this situation. A few things that I’ve noted:
- Despite a lackluster effort in the last few years of his administration, the Bush’s Administration appears to have done exceptional preparation (based on the Avian Flu) for dealing with this sort of problem. Let’s give credit where credit is due. A few years ago we were concerned about the Bird Flu (which didn’t really pan out). Yet, efforts were made to provide a framework to prepare for this. We’re seeing the results of this plan and it appears to be working well.
- We’re seeing the importance that public health is playing in this situation. It’s so refreshing to see public health officials who are acknowledged for their expertise and knowledge rather than demonized (as we have seen in the past). Most people don’t want to pay taxes, but if they do they want to see the benefits resulting from such. I think the fact that the U.S. has the best established public health routine in the world is pretty evident with an event such as this, and most people that I have talked to feel that the money we’ve invested in the CDC is well worth it.
- We’re seeing the continuing emergence of the county public health department as the leader in emergency preparedness. I’m not sure how it is in the other states, but after 9-11 we realized that our emergency preparedness was in a real disarray. In a study that Dale Ritzel (former colleague of mine) and I did in the early 90s we found that everybody in our community (probably true with most places throughout the U.S.) had their own unique emergency preparedness plan but nobody was talking to the other players in the community. For example, here in Carbondale, SIU had a plan; the local hospital had a plan; the emergency personnel had a plan; the city had a plan, but nobody coordinated all such parties (or if they did nobody knew about it). After 9-11, here in Illinois, the county health departments stepped up to the plate and took over that control. Here in Jackson County (home county of SIU), the emergency preparedness coordinator at the health department is an MPH health educator. It makes perfect sense for this type of person to take over the lead. They have great planning and organizing skills, know how to work with various groups. What a great opportunity to show our students what health educators actually do.
I’m also privy to a very special situation. My wife, also an MPH trained health educator also works at the local health department (Division Director of HIV Services) who is also a key person in the emergency preparedness scenario. In addition to her regular work expectations, she also has key roles in emergencies. I can’t go into detail because of security (and probably because I don’t know them myself), but she has played a key role in receiving medical supplies to deal with the H1N1 outbreak. Last week she was awakened at 2:00 am to receive the drop of supplies. Besides carrying a cool badge she also gets to boss people around (she’s had plenty of practice with me—the difference is that most of these other people listen to her).
Earlier on the HEDIR blog there was a discussion on the terms community health public health. I think this recent event further supports the term that the health education profession needs to affiliate themselves much more with the term public health more and to identify themselves not as community health educators but rather public health educators. Public health has received great attention and it’s becoming a much more revered and respected term.
Kelly House
Mark J Kittleson
Margaret Sullivan
Maria Alexandrova
jodyearly
Shanell L. McGoy
Mainul Mustafa
M. Helen Hogue
Yuba
Okony K. Cham
Kamrun Mustafa
I do not believe it is necessary to choose one over the other between the terms community health educator and public health educator. Community healht educators work in the community in entities that are not official public health ones. For example, a helath educator working for a battered woman's center may be providing health education to women and their children. The center is not an offical public health agency. Another example would be a health educator working in a faith-based community organization that helps the impoverished. Again, the organization is not an official health agency. I believe both terms have utility for health educators.
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You may be right, but I have found that many people in the communities in which I have lived and worked view "public" as a word that involves government funding and management. They see "community" as a broader term without the close relationship with government funding and management.
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