Top Concentrations for Public Health Degrees
- Global Health
- Women’s Health
- Epidemiology
- Social and Behavioral Health
- Food and Nutrition
Public health degrees can be specialized to allow students to gain the educational vantage needed to work in different areas of public health. The field of public health is wide and includes issues across several disciplines and affecting local, national and global populations. You can look at health issues through the lens of psychological factors, environmental determinants, social populations and other causative factors. Here are five great concentrations to consider in a public health degree.
1. Global Health
A global health concentration looks at public health issues in developed countries as well as those that are still developing. Issues of global health affect the security of world nations including our own, according to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. A global health concentration studies things like the declining rate of infectious disease and the growing problem of heart disease and stroke with the goal of finding interventions. Other issues involved in global health are lack of access to health care, lack of clean drinking water, substance abuse, social customs affecting health and others. The concentration also includes studies in preventative measures and in potential global health issues like pandemics.
2. Women’s Health
Women’s health is the study and practice surrounding women’s reproductive health, neo-natal health issues, health issues across the lifespan and chronic illness. In addition to looking at the issues, this public health concentration involves the development and implementation of public policy affecting women’s health. It deals with family planning, adolescent sexual health and other women’s health issues.
3. Epidemiology
Epidemiology is perhaps closest to what people think of as public health. It looks at whole populations instead of individuals to find causes of health problems and imagines interventions that could stop the spread of diseases and health hazards. It is a research-based public health concentration with foundations in scientific data-and-evidence-driven methodology. It is not just concerned with infectious and non-infectious disease, but with issues like exposure to toxic substances, natural disasters and even terrorism.
4. Social and Behavioral Health
Mental and emotional health are also public health issues. A social and behavioral health concentration deals with the social and psychological issues, including economics, that may cause health problems, according to the CDC. Like epidemiology, this is a research-based concentration. Areas included in this public health degree concentration are things like suicide, risk-taking behavior, social stigmas in health issues and addictions. It looks at whole populations of people, although these may not be determined by geographic areas, but by social determinants. Those who are under-served and disadvantaged are especially considered. Three areas of the concentration are evaluation of the prevalent situations, designing interventions and dealing with addictions.
5. Food and Nutrition
The ultimate goal of the food and nutrition public health concentration is to give students the expertise they need to address the growing rate of health issues like heart disease and obesity through nutrition. The concentration is multi-faceted and involves looking at the access populations have to nutritious food and creating paths to getting healthy diets. The concentration also involves training students to be educators. Food and nutrition professionals work with populations to teach them how to prepare foods and how to determine what constitutes a healthy portion. A food and nutrition concentration also leads to professions that affect policy change and issue nutritional guidelines.
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These are not the only concentrations available in a public health degree program, but they are some major areas. If you are considering a public health degree and want to specialize your program, any of these five concentrations could lead you to a satisfying career in public health.