Health Care : Cdc And Prevention

The purpose of preventative medicine is to identify health conditions that can affect a patient's health in the future. One agency that focuses on preventative measures in the health care arena is the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Description and Structure of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was founded in 1946 (www.cdc.gov, n.d.). The CDC is one of the thirteen agencies that operates under the Department of Health and Human Services which is, "Ð'...the principal agency in the United States government for protecting the health and safety of all AmericansÐ'..." (www.cdc.gov, n.d.). "Today, CDC is globally recognized for conducting research and investigations and for its action oriented approach" (www.cdc.gov, n.d.). Not only does the CDC help promote individual health improvement, but the CDC also monitors and combats threats of terrorism that would affect the health of the American people (www.cdc.gov, n.d.).

The CDC was originally located in Atlanta, Georgia and its primary task was to combat malaria. There are four buildings that now house the CDC; they are the Global Communications Center, Emerging Infectious Disease Laboratory, Headquarters and Emergency Operations Center, and the Environmental Health Laboratory (www.cdc.gov, n.d.).

Agency Functions of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention

According to the CDC website the, "CDC is committed to achieving true improvements in people's health" (www.cdc.gov, n.d.). One of the ways that the CDC strives to achieve these improvements is by "defining specific health impact goals" (www.cdc.gov, n.d.). These goals include the identification, detection, and prevention of things such as, "emerging infectious diseases (SARS, monkeypox, pandemic influenza), terrorism, environmental threats (hurricanes, wildfires, toxic chemical spills), aging population, [and] lifestyle choices (tobacco use, poor nutrition, lack of physical fitness)" (www.cdc.gov, n.d.). There are six strategies that the CDC has identified and adopted in order to help organize and prioritize its "health protection goals" (www.cdc.gov, n.d.). These goal strategies include health impact focus, customer-centricity, public health research, leadership, global health impact, and accountability (www.cdc.gov, n.d.). The health impact focus purpose is to organize all of the CDC's resources in order to make the largest impact on society, customer-centricity focuses on marketing what people need to know when addressing health care, public health research investigates and then publishes disease findings (and other health care related issues) to the public for current and future use, the leadership aspect of the strategies show how the CDC balances "partnerships and networks to improve the health system", the global health impact is used to help increase knowledge about health care issues around the world, and accountability is used to show how effective and efficient the CDC is with the funding that is provided by society (www.cdc.gov, n.d.).

The CDC's health protection goals center around four themes; these themes are "healthy people in every stage of life, healthy people in healthy places, people prepared for emerging health threats, [and] healthy people in a healthy world" (www.cdc.gov, n.d.).

Healthy People In Every Stage Of Life

"All people, and especially those at greater risk of health disparities, will achieve their optimal lifespan with the best possible quality of health in every stage of life" (www.cdc.gov, n.d.). The zero to three-year age group is identified as "start strong" (www.cdc.gov, n.d.). This goal is to ensure that all infants and toddlers have a strong, healthy start in life. Vaccinations, well child check ups, and child safety all pertain to this goal.

The second stage of the goal includes the four to eleven-year age range. This theme focuses on, "increase[ing] the number of children who grow up healthy, safe, and ready to learn" (www.cdc.gov, n.d.).

The third stage of the goal addresses those adolescents in the twelve to nineteen-year age bracket. The main purpose of this stage is to prepare adolescents for leading healthy lives as "productive members of society" (www.cdc.gov, n.d.). The CDC identifies this as achieving healthy independence.

The fourth stage is labeled as living a healthy, satisfying and productive life, and this stage pertains to the twenty to forty-nine-year age category. The goal of this stage is to, "increase the number of adults who are healthy and able to participate fully in life activities and enter their later years with optimum health" (www.cdc.gov, n.d.).

The final stage of the goal is identified as live better, longer and it is directed toward the fifty and older age group. The main focus of this stage is to, "Increase the number of older adults who live longer, high-quality, productive, and independent lives" (www.cdc.gov, n.d.).

Healthy People In Healthy Places

"The places where people live, work, learn, and play will protect and promote their health and safety, especially those at greater risk of health disparities" (www.cdc.gov, n.d). The basic purpose is to ensure a healthy setting, which could include safe living quarters, healthy air, clean water, adequate sanitation in the food service settings, healthy food choices in vending machines, and/or quality health care (www.cdc.gov, n.d.). One way that the CDC can disseminate information gathered along with support of the data is CDC WONDER (Wide-ranging OnLine Data for Epidemiologic Research). CDC WONDER is, "Ð'...valuable in public health research, decision making, priority setting, program evaluation, and resource allocation" (http://cdc.wonder.gov/, 2006). The principal function of CDC WONDER is to help support the primary function of the CDC.

People Prepared For Emerging Health Threats

"People in all communities will be protected from infectious, occupational, environmental, and terrorist threats" (www.cdc.gov, n.d.). This theme is categorized into three parts: pre-event, event and post event (www.cdc.gov, n.d.). "Preparedness goals will address scenarios that include natural and intentional threats. The first round of these scenarios will encompass influenza, anthrax, plague, emerging infections, toxic chemical exposure, and radiation exposure" (www.cdc.gov, n.d.).

The pre-event focuses on increasing the development of interventions that