Describe the role of public health in a community.

PUBLIC HEALTH 101 – THE BASICS
1. Describe the role of public health in a community.
2. List five core public health functions and essential services. Include three related to disease investigation and prevention.
3. Define the terms outbreak, epidemic, endemic and pandemic. Give actual examples of each.
4. What is a case definition?
5. Describe public health disease reporting requirements.
6. What are five mandated reportable disease in the state that you live in?
7. How would you contact the public health department in your county?
8. How many cases of Covid-19 are there in your county? How many deaths? How does this compare to the U.S. total cases and deaths?
9. List three reasons why Covid-19 is spreading so rapidly?

CASE SCENARIO
You are the infection control nurse in your 75-bed nursing home. You have an attached 10 bed unit for dementia care. One of your residents has returned from a week with their family and has developed a fever and cough. You suspect that this resident may have contracted a new respiratory infection that has just recently been seen in the community, Covid – 19. Develop a checklist that the facility can use for this case and any future disease outbreaks.
• What are the symptoms of a respiratory infection with Covid – 19?
• How would you identify and manage ill residents?
• What extra precautions would need to be taken for the dementia residents?
• What type of supplies would you need?
• What staff precautions would need to be taken?
• What training would staff need?
• What considerations would be needed for visitors?

CDC COVID19
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
Johns Hopkins Map
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
Interactive outbreak investigative exercise
http://www.mclph.umn.edu/watersedge/play.html

Washington State COVID19
http://www.healthdata.org/covid