If you are fascinated by how the environment impacts our health and well-being and how it affects our communities, you should consider pursuing a degree in public health.
What is Public Health?
Public health works on the welfare of humans on a national level. It is designed to impact the lives of millions of people around the world.
It focuses on promoting health and prevention of diseases in communities through education, policy-making, and research on disease and injury prevention while also empowering them to manage their illness and disabilities.
Public health programs often work hand in hand with governmental officials, federal or local positions, and non-profit organizations.
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Why is Pursuing a Degree in Public Health Important?
If you want to impact society through your efforts, public health services offer you that opportunity. Public health plays a crucial part in a nation’s well-being.
It’s the main priority of a progressive nation because healthy people make a prosperous nation. Public healthcare experts are now more important than ever due to the constant threat and virus outbreaks.
A public health graduate-level degree is a program designed to train students to protect and improve the health of communities. It depends upon varying curriculums, but you can expect to study modules in epidemiology, behavioral sciences, biostatistics, management, etc. You can also opt for an online MPH if you want to work while you study.
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What Can You Do With a Public Health Degree?
Here are some careers or fields of specialties that a person with public health education can pursue:
1. Health Education Specialist
Health education specialists deal with educating communities on behavior that will promote wellness. They develop and evaluate wellness programs that help individuals, families, and communities maintain healthy lifestyles. They often conduct research and analyze communities to understand important components of public health.
These professionals also train and educate health care providers. They also advocate for better policies, resources, and health care programs.
2. Epidemiology
Epidemiologists work in public health to investigate injuries and diseases. They not only cover highly infectious diseases but also various chronic illnesses. They collect and analyze data on different diseases to find out their origins and spreading patterns.
Epidemiologists often work in labs, offices, clinical settings, and for the state and local health departments, hospitals, colleges, private pharmaceutical companies, health insurance providers, and scientific research and development services. But they can also often work in rural areas and developing countries with a much higher spread rate.
3. Biostatistician
Biostatisticians collect and analyze data using maths and statistics for biology and public health. You can use this data to determine how certain factors affect communities’ health and overall well-being.
If you love numbers, data analysis, and research, this field would be good for you. It offers a career in health and medicine without having to be a clinical doctor, etc. You can work as a health economist, operations manager, data analyst, or researcher.
4. Behavioral Health Scientist
Behavioral scientists study and analyze the correlation between health issues and human behavioral patterns. They investigate different data sets and research to develop interventions for programs like drug addiction, obesity, mental health issues, domestic abuse, etc.
People with strong communication and problem-solving skills fit this profession well. You can work as a data analyst, behavior scientist, social services manager, and an addiction treatment program planner.
5. Environmental Health Specialist
This branch of public health deals with natural and man-made environments and their effect on human health and well-being. These specialists study the impact of air and water pollution, climate change, sanitation practices, and hygiene to develop interventions that create a healthy living environment.
This is a good career option for people who are deeply invested in our planet’s future, care about climate change, and make this world more habitable for at-risk communities.
You can work as an environmental health technician, environmental scientist, public health or environmental engineer, or public safety officer.
6. Toxicologist
Toxicologists deal with the identification of potential bio and chemical hazards and their effect on human health and exposure. This leads to measures and interventions against threats that can cause serious harm to our well-being.
Toxicologists also develop treatments and drugs for chemical exposures. They help government officials regulate harmful substances. Toxicologists can work in various areas including government agencies, academia, and research.
7. Demographer
One of the fields of public health is demography, a science concerned with the size, characteristics, and different dynamics of the population.
It includes collecting and studying phenomena like birth rates, death rates, age ratios, ethnicities, and living conditions of a population.
To plan healthcare interventions and programs for communities, it is important to understand the structures of a population. Demographers can work in the government and private sectors in research planning and policy-making branches, on school boards, with health authorities, and with social agencies.
8. Emergency Management Specialist
Emergency or disaster management is the plan of action that’s set up in preparedness for an emergency. This is an immediate and long-term response plan to any disaster, whether a viral outbreak, climate disaster, hurricane, or any potential biohazard threat.
This career is good for people who can think on their feet and are great in emergencies. You can work in many job roles, including emergency management specialists, emergency preparedness coordinators, emergency preparedness specialists, supervisory emergency management specialists, and response coordinators.
Conclusion
The field of public health and sciences is full of career opportunities. With the rise of infectious diseases and climate crises, healthcare is constantly growing. As a result, there is a huge demand for healthcare professionals.
Whatever career path you choose in this field, they all come with benefits and huge career growth prospects. Not only that, but they provide ample opportunities to improve the lives of people and communities and bring lasting change to the environment.
