In this commentary, we review definition frameworks for community health and examine factors having core relevance to shaping the meaning of this term and growing field. We conclude by suggesting a potential framework for conceptualizing and advancing this field of public health practice through improved understanding of the meaning, scope, and science of community health.

Public health surveillance is the cornerstone of public health practice. The uses of surveillance include the identification of patterns of health among population subgroups. The assessment of race and ethnicity in public health surveillance is fundamental to the reduction of preventable excesses in poor health among racial and ethnic populations. We review the use of race and ethnic variables ...

Ethical challenges in public health can have a significant impact on the health of communities if they impede efficiencies and best practices. Competing needs for resources and a plurality of values can challenge public health policymakers and practitioners to make fair and effective decisions for their communities. In this paper, the authors offer an analytic framework designed to assist polic...

The Emerging Infections Program (EIP), a collaboration between (currently) 10 state health departments, their academic center partners, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was established in 1995. The EIP performs active, population-based surveillance for important infectious diseases, addresses new problems as they arise, emphasizes projects that lead to prevention, and develop...

Genomics research findings on asthma are reported with increasing frequency. As these findings are incorporated into existing knowledge of disease etiology and pathogenesis, the implications for public health practice need to be considered. In 2003, the University of Washington Center for Genomics and Public Health initiated a project to synthesize information about asthma genomics, to examine ...

Public health ethics has emerged and grown as an independent discipline over the last decade. It involves using ethical theory and empirical analyses to determine and justify the right thing to do in public health. In this paper, we distinguish public health ethics from clinical ethics, research ethics, public health law and politics. We then discuss issues in public health ethics including: ho...

We present a novel user-centric visual analytics system that supports investigation of simulated disease outbreak and the study of decision-making. We developed Epinome as part of our research on decision making in public health and in particular, on the evaluation of information search strategies in public health practice. Epinome is a highly dynamic web-based system that provides a platform t...

During the First World War, anthrax cases in the United States and England increased greatly and seemed to be associated with use of new shaving brushes. Further investigation revealed that the source material and origin of shaving brushes had changed during the war. Cheap brushes of imported horsehair were being made to look like the preferred badger-hair brushes. Unfortunately, some of these ...

BACKGROUND Addressing the limitations of existing Local Wellness Policies (LWPs) and promoting their implementation remain priorities for health and education agencies. One gap has been the absence of a standard assessment to support LWP revision. During planning for an initiative to improve school nutrition and physical education policy, the Wellness School Assessment Tool (WellSAT) was evalua...

The work, results, and thoughts of Andrija Štampar are recognized globally as a public health heritage (1). They encompass the vision of health as a state of overall well-being, society as the key responsible health care provider, and a set of values and guiding principles underlining the importance of optimal health. The reasons behind their adoption worldwide lie in the success of public heal...