Career Services, University of Pennsylvania

What is Public Health?

The field of public health addresses, through organized interdisciplinary approaches, the physical, mental, and environmental health of communities. Unlike doctors whose focus is on improving the health of individuals, public health professionals focus primarily upon ameliorating the physical and/or mental health of populations. The discipline of public health emphasizes disease prevention and health promotion – its practitioners employ a spectrum of interventions aimed at the environment, human behavior and lifestyle, and medical care. Assessment is an essential component of their research; their tools of analysis are both qualitative and quantitative, with an emphasis on the latter. Public health methodologies are inter-disciplinary, derived primarily from the social and biological sciences. Clinical training is considered peripheral to its professional training.

Some of the more significant health promotion and disease prevention activities employed by public health professionals are:

Monitoring medical trends to identify community health problems
Diagnosing and investigating health problems and hazards in the community
Informing, educating, and empowering people about health-related issues

Mobilizing community partnerships to identify and solve health problems

Developing policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts

Enforcing laws and regulations that protect health and safety of communities

Linking people to appropriate personal health services and assuring the provision of health services when these are otherwise unavailable

Assuring a competent public health and personal health care workforce

Evaluating effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-based services

Researching innovative solutions to health problems

Core Areas of Public Health

The core areas of public health study are:

Health Services Administration

Individuals seeking careers in administration or resource management in the public or private sectors of health service delivery can specialize in health planning, organization, policy formulation and analysis, finance, economics or marketing.

Biostatistics

Career opportunities in this area involve the application of statistical procedures, technologies, and assessment methodologies to characterize or investigate health problems and programs.

Epidemiology

Opportunities abound in this field for specialists trained in the systematic analysis of the distribution and determinants of disease or disability in population groups.

Behavioral Sciences/Health Education

These specialists use specific methods and program strategies to help people adapt healthier lifestyles, make more efficient use of health services, adopt self-care prevention techniques, and to participate actively in the design and implementation of health-related programs.

Environmental Health Sciences

This field includes such diverse disciplines as chemistry, toxicology, and environmental engineering, and is concerned with the identification and control of factors in nature and the man-made environment (air, water, land, housing) which affect the health of populations.

Other related fields of study in public health are:

Occupational Safety & Health

This field identifies health and safety hazards related to work and the workplace, as well as their prevention and control.

Maternal and Child Health

Professionals in this field focus on the complex public health problems affecting women, children, and families. This are is concerned with discovering and testing solutions through applied research at the local, national, and international levels, along with participating in community activities to improve maternal and child health.

Public Health Practice & Program Management

This area encompasses many identifiable public health programs, including (but not limited to) maternal and child health, aging, mental health, and coordinates with relevant professional disciplines, such as medicine, dentistry, nursing, and social work.

Nutrition

In short supply, these specialists study the interaction between nutrition and health, and the application of sound nutritional principles to maintain good health.

Biomedical & Laboratory Practice

This field encompasses a diverse array of specialists such as bacteriologists, microbiologists, and biochemists who use laboratory techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and for the investigation of conditions affecting health status.

Public Health Dentistry

Thi field prevents and controls dental disease by promoting dental health through organized community efforts. It is concerned with health education of the public, applied dental research, and the administration of dental care programs on a community wide-basis.

International/ Global Health

This field encompasses virtually all the specializations of public health and focuses on improving health standards, mostly in developing countries.

Types of Degrees

Professionals working in public health can earn a range of degrees. The Masters of Public Health (MPH) is a two-year program; beyond that, individuals sometimes obtain a Doctor of Philosophy in public health (PhD) or a Doctorate of Public Health. These latter two degrees require three years of course work, and a capstone dissertation project usually involving field or laboratory work under the guidance of a dissertation advisor.

Another related degree is the Masters in Biostatistics, with an obvious quantitative focus. In addition to an M.P.H., it is possible to obtain joint degrees such as MD/MPH, MBA/MPH, and JD/MPH, though it is essential to have very specific goals for such a course of study.

Admissions

Admission to top public health programs is rather competitive. Typically, individuals work in clinical programs and/or are involved in health research for at least two years before matriculation in a public health graduate program. Sometimes the MPH degree is obtained by mid-career professionals seeking to change the direction of their work. A field dominated by women numerically, the ratio of women to men is 3:1. A good general guideline of the application requirements for most (but not all) public health programs is:

College degree, with a year of biology and a year of college-level mathematics (statistics or calculus). Chemistry and physics, while not usually required, are useful. Students can major in any area, although individuals in the social and hard sciences predominate.
GRE scores (although some schools may accept MCAT, GMAT, or LSAT in lieu of the GRE).
Three letters of recommendation (from faculty or work supervisors)
Personal statement
Resume
Transcripts (from all institutions where you matriculated)
Proven dedication to the field, demonstrated by substantive experience and passionate commitment.

Deadlines vary from fall to spring, depending upon the individual program and whether Spring matriculation is possible, but most schools have deadlines in the fall.

Program Curricula

Since the paradigm for public health is multi-disciplinary, curricula require courses to be taken from the biological, physical, social, and behavioral sciences. Introductory courses in biostatistics, epidemiology, and the biological sciences basic to public health are mandatory. Other core areas, including health administration, environmental health ,and other behavioral sciences, are also required.

Once an area of concentration has been chosen, a student charts a course of study geared to his or her professional goals. This usually includes coursework, supervised field experiences, and a significant research or laboratory project. MPH students produce a master's thesis, typically using secondary data, while doctoral students fulfill their Master's requirements and take further coursework in their areas of specialization. They also take written and/or oral examinations in one or more of the core public health fields and their course of study culminates with the design and implementation of a major research project –the doctoral thesis. This typically includes the collection and analysis of primary data and the use of evaluative methodologies. Like most other doctoral programs, at the conclusion of research, there is usually a dissertation defense.

Careers in Public Health

Careers in public health continue to expand. Jobs for people with an MPH can be found in both the public and private sectors, including local, state, and federal health and government agencies, HMOs, and healthcare consulting.

With an MPH degree, it is possible to work in various capacities in health departments, become a project director for on-going research projects, or become involved with community groups in the design and implementation of health education efforts and disease prevention technologies. One may also author reports or professional papers and evaluate on-going programs at the Masters level. Those who puruse a doctoral degree are trained for research or academia. They write grants and design and run major studies, as well as publish research reports and papers in academic journals.

Typically, PhDs in public health can be found in upper level jobs in government (e.g. the National Institute of Health, National Institute of Mental Health, Center for Disease Control, Department of Veteran Affairs, National Center for Infectious Diseases, etc.,) as health policy consultants for government, think tanks, health care companies, and in universities and research centers.

Those interested in international health issues typically do research and design interventions for populations in developing countries, or for immigrant or disadvantaged communities in first world countries. They are often based in US agencies, research institutions, or NGOs.