Public Health Organizational Structure

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Leadership and Organizational Structures Of Public Health For the public health system to be effective and also assure the nation’s health, there must be a collaborative effort of people and organizations. The government at all levels in the United States has their responsibility in creating better-living conditions for people, so they can be as healthy as possible. The United States of America, being a federalist country has her authority and responsibilities divided among the federal, state and local government agencies in public health. These three tiers of government play a major role in the delivery of public health services. They also play a very important role in the protection, preservation and promotion of public health and safety.…show more content…
The federal government also wields a lot of influence on the leadership and organizational structure of public health in the United States. The legislative branch – has the authority “for creating federal programs, policies and regulations that influence public health” (Scutchfield & Keck, 2009, p.151). The executive branch – has the authority to implement the created programs, policies and regulations via its administrative agencies. The judicial branch – has the responsibility of “interpreting and adjudicating the federal government’s public health authority (Scutchfield & Keck,…show more content…
The director of the SHA is appointed by the governor in some states, by the head of a super agency in other states, and also by the state board of health in just a few states. (Scutchfield &Keck, 2009). Initially, the position of the state health directors was held by physicians with no training in public health but now physicians are trained specifically for positions in public health. The tenure of state health directors has decreased over the years. The roles and functions will continue to evolve depending on the needs of the

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