What is public health?

Public health is the science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities. This is achieved by promoting healthy lifestyles, researching disease and injury prevention, and detecting, preventing, and responding to infectious diseases. Overall, the main goal of public health is to protect the health of the populations we serve.

Public health professionals create educational programs, recommend policies, administer services, and conduct research to prevent large-scale health problems from occurring or happening again. This work is different from healthcare professionals, like doctors and nurses, who provide care to individuals and meet their specific needs.

Why do we need public health?

Public health is all around us. And while it’s often a thankless job, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes. Public health plays a major role in increasing life expectancy, reducing illness, and improving quality of life for the entire population. Clean air, safe water, and access to nutritious food are among the essential components of keeping people healthy and safe as well as ensuring our economy remains strong and stable.

Public health agencies, like the Fulton County Board of Health, also usually offer services to populations who might not have access to healthcare, such as uninsured and low-income individuals. According to a CDC survey, 28 million people under the age of 65 are uninsured. Four million of those are children 17 years old and younger.

In Fulton County, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population is just over 1 million people. Of that number, 10.1% of residents under the age of 65 are uninsured, which is just over 109K people.

Hispanic adults were most likely to lack health insurance coverage, followed by Black adults, white adults, and Asian adults, respectively.

The Fulton County Board of Health is committed to preventing new cases of HIV and ensuring that those who are currently living with HIV in our community have access to care.

Fulton County is ranked 6th highest among U.S. counties for new HIV diagnoses. The rate of new infections in Atlanta is twice that for Georgia as a whole. Public health districts with the highest rates of new HIV diagnoses are Fulton County (48.9), DeKalb (48.8), and Clayton (48.2).

Our Ryan White Program is one of the first HIV programs to be offered in the state of Georgia. It provides a comprehensive array of services including primary care, oral and mental health, and substance abuse support for those who are impoverished and are living with HIV/AIDS. The aim of this program is to target highly vulnerable individuals whose wellbeing has been compromised and to give them access to care that they normally would not be able to afford.

Eliminating and preventing sexually transmitted diseases and infections in Georgia are also top priorities of the Fulton County Board of Health. STDs and STIs remain a growing public health issue across the U.S., and data shows that Georgia ranks among the worst-affected states. Among large counties across the U.S., Fulton County, Georgia ranked second for having the highest STD infection rates.

The Fulton County Board of Health offers testing and treatment for STDs and STIs such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. Researchers say multiple factors contribute to these high numbers, such as gaps in healthcare access, limited sexual health education, barriers to routine screenings and treatment, and economic disparities and systemic inequities.