 At the public health office, we listened to Siri, an epidemiologist. She taught us all about what the public health department does. We were surprised to learn that a lot of what they do is public education. Another thing we learned was that they are starting a program for better dental care for low income families because poor dental health leads to poor health overall. She showed us the different reasons for deaths in the county grouped by ages. That's what the photo is. The blue squares are accidents. You can see that they are the biggest reason for younger adults. The main cause of death for 45 and older is heart disease, with cancer being the main cause for 65 and older.
Other things we learned were that there are active tuberculosis cases here on the Peninsula. Most every active case is from people immigrating from other countries. In our area, there isn't really any worry over Lyme disease or cholera, but they do see some salmonella cases. They are the agency that takes calls from people who think they have eaten bad food at a restaurant.
Another thing they do is to compile statistics. It helps them know how to plan for the future. They have emergency plans in place in case of an epidemic. The only time they have ever had anything like that in the last ten years was when an inmate in the jail had chicken pox. That gave them a chance to see how their protocols worked on a very small scale.
The #1 way to prevent getting the diseases listed in public health is for everyone to wash their hands. Again and again, after touching anything that could have germs on it.
If you are working on your Public Health worksheet, Miss Siri has provided links to answer the questions! Click here for the worksheet help.
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