Public Health Policy

¶ … Health Problems in Modern Society The main function of the health care industry is to maintain and enhance the biological functioning of people in the United States regardless of the constant threat of injury and illness. This means that the effectiveness of the health care system is largely determined or influenced by its ability to contribute to the health and well-being of people.

In order to achieve this goal, the health care system has constantly relied of several signs and symptoms of the presence of disease, which are used as the basis for public health interventions. The identification of these signs and symptoms is followed by diagnosis of the injury or illness as part of the intervention process. While proper diagnosis of diseases is sometimes characterized by several uncertainties, the health care sector currently utilizes a wide range of metrics to determine the presence of disease and its severity.

Public health interventions have largely been used to address public health concerns in order to achieve the main goal of the health care industry. An example of the effectiveness of public health interventions in promoting the health and well-being of individuals is in relation to tobacco. Since the mid-20th century, decline in tobacco use has greatly contributed to the health of Americans.

This decline in use of tobacco is attributed to the multi-faceted public health interventions and initiatives that have been used to address the numerous health problems and issues associated with tobacco use. This example demonstrates that effective health policy interventions can be adopted and similarly contribute to public health in the coming years. The varying conditions in the modern society constantly expose Americans to new public health threats, especially with increase in migration and lifestyles that harm an individual's health and well-being (Greenwald, 2010, p.68).

The new threats to public health are also brought by the emergence of drug-resistant microorganisms, which hinder the effectiveness of public health interventions. In light of these factors, the major public health concerns and issues in the United States are chronic in nature and characterized by multi-factorial etiology. Actually, chronic diseases have become common public health issues and are caused by hereditary, environmental, and behavioral factors. Given their nature, chronic diseases require multiple interventions and treatment measures, which create numerous issues for the health care system.

The treatment of chronic diseases requires the development of public health policy given the significance of policymakers in lessening the risk and burden of chronic diseases ("Preventing Chronic Diseases," n.d.). The suitability of public health policy in dealing with chronic diseases is partly attributed to the fact that the growth of these diseases is partly brought by tobacco use, which has declined because of effective public health policy.

Generally, policymakers play an important role in lessening the risk and burden of chronic disease by enforcing policies and programs that create a healthy environment and boost health care access. Public health policy can contribute to reduction of the risk and burden of chronic diseases through focusing on various important areas include public health perspective, integrated service delivery, and communication and information systems. The public health perspective involves planning health care interventions for populations of patients. This process would.