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Office of Student Services - Overview

What is Public Health?

ASSESSMENT of the health status of communities to identify the unique and most pressing health problems of each community, thus enabling rational, effective deployment of health resources through adequate planning and policy development.

HEALTH EDUCATION to provide individuals with knowledge and skills to maintain or improve their own health.

MONITORING AND ACTION to assure prevention of infectious and chronic diseases as well as the safety of air, water and food supplies.

OUTREACH, SCREENING, AND LINKAGE to ensure that individuals needing health care are identified and receive appropriate services. These are essential components of public health programs that reduce the tolls taken by such problems as lead poisoning, vaccine-preventable diseases, tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases, chronic diseases and the diseases and problems that account for infant mortality.

What is the national demand for public health professionals of color?

The need for trained people has increased with the proliferation of health programs and agencies. In its Eighth Report to Congress (1992), HHS pointed to shortages of epidemiologists, environmental health professionals, toxicologists, biostatisticians, nutritionists, public health nurses, and physicians trained in public health and preventive medicine.

Many minority communities are underserved in health care services. Today the largest underserved minority groups -- African-American, Latino, and Native-American -- are also underrepresented in the health professions. These three groups provide a largely untapped pool of public health care providers who already possess the needed cultural and language skills.

Instructional Programs in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine

Biostatistics:
Biostatisticians work with epidemiologists, physicians, and other scientists in designing medical research studies and in collecting and analyzing data in academic and government agencies and drug companies. They also teach statistics in academic institutions and consult widely. Contact Alex MacKenzie, (206) 685-9496, for information.

Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences:
In this area of specialization, which is concerned with the identification and control of factors in the natural environment (air, water, land), there are acute shortages of chemists, toxicologists and engineers. Contact Rory Murphy, (206) 616-3465, for information.

Epidemiology:
The basic science of public health, epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of disease in human populations. Students of epidemiology prepare for careers in research, teaching, or community service, and may obtain positions in health agencies, research institutions, or universities. Contact EPI, (206) 685-1762, for information.

Health Services:
The Department of Health Services focuses on the study of factors affecting the organization and delivery of health care and disease prevention services, emphasizing the manner in which societal resources are, or can be, deployed to deliver health services. The department provides professional education to prepare managers, practitioners, and researchers in applied, as well as basic, disciplinary areas of health services. Contact Kitty Andert, (206) 616-2926, for information.

Pathobiology:
Pathobiology is the study of pathogenic biological agents and their interaction with their hosts, primarily humans. The department applies the research tools of immunology, molecular biology, pathology, and genetics to the detection and characterization of diseases such as AIDS, cancer, Kaposi's sarcoma, chlamydial diseases, heart disease, tuberculosis, malaria, leishmaniasis, and Chagas' disease. As a discipline, pathobiology stands at the interface between fundamental biology and clinical medicine. Contact Leslie Miller, (206) 543-1045, for information.

Undergraduate Minor in Public Health
This minor gives undergraduates at the University of Washington an opportunity to be introduced to major public health issues which confront the world, the United States, and our local communities. These issues are of major societal concern, and include topics as diverse as emerging infectious diseases, chronic diseases, access to health care and different modes of health care delivery, the geography of health in an increasingly interdependent world, the effects of environment on health and disease, and the tools which medical researchers use to understand the biological mechanism of disease and the modes of disease spread, prevention and cure. Contact Jeremy Sappington or Jonathan Mayer for more information.

Additional Assistance

A support/intervention program, the Health Sciences Center Minority Students Program seeks to recruit, provide academic counseling, and promote retention of minority high school, undergraduate, pre-professional, and graduate/professional students in the health sciences schools (Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public Health and Community Medicine and Social Work) [206-543-7822].

The Office of Educational Opportunity Programs provides services, including admissions and recruitment, academic advising, personal and career counseling, housing, financial assistance and other programs to undergraduate students from minority groups. [206-543-6598].

The Graduate Opportunities & Minority Achievement Program (GO-MAP) of The Graduate School administers a variety of fellowships and assistantships based on need and on merit. Financial support is open to men and women whose ethnic origin is either Black/African American, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian American/Pacific Islander, or Hispanic/Mexican American. These awards are generally made through the nomination and support of the department in which the student is enrolled. Students must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents to be eligible. Supplemental awards ranging from $250 to $1,000 are based upon an evaluation of the student's need as established by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the University's Office of Student Financial Aid. A limited number of tuition scholarships are also available. [206-543-9016; toll free 800-524-9122; email gomap@u.washington.edu].