Public Health Administration Health Article

Definition

Public health administration is the component of the field of public health that concentrates on management of people and programs. On a day-to-day basis, administration is needed to ensure that organizations operate efficiently and with success. Programs must be guided. The field of administration is concerned with theory and techniques derived from a variety of fields, mainly management.

Description

The work of a public health administrator is at the same time similar to and different from that of persons engaged in administration in other fields. The administrative elements are similar. These include supervising employees, coordinating programs, preparing budgets, monitoring programs, and evaluating results and outcomes. Other aspects that are germane to the field of public health are different from other fields. Public health administrators are concerned with health and disease prevention programs. They administer educational campaigns and try to keep the people they serve healthy. Other health professionals have similar aims of maintaining health but often are restorative or curative rather than preventive.

There are 10 core public health functions with which an administrator must be familiar. There is a specialized body of public health law. Data are constantly being generated. They must be sorted, classified, stored, and interpreted. There are systems to keep track of diseases, vital events, waste materials, insects and a host of other aspects of public health. Data that are developed must be organized and presented to such various constituencies as members of the public, governmental agencies and professionals. The overall health of the public being served must be periodically assessed. Intervention programs must be created, implemented and evaluated. Other forms of research are conducted.

The day-to-day activities of a public health administrator include human resources management; finance; performance measurement and improvement; communications and marketing; and maintaining relations with members of the media and local government. A public health administrator must build relationships with such various constituencies as consumer groups, health providers and legislators. Leadership is an important aspect of public health administration.