DELOS SANTOS, ARVIN RAY M.

PH ADMINISTRATION
MPH-1 30 MAY 2020

OVERVIEW OF PUBLIC HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

Definition
Public health administration is the component of the field of public health that concentrates on
management of people and programs. On a day-to-day basis, administration is needed to ensure that
organizations operate efficiently and with success. Programs must be guided. The field of administration
is concerned with theory and techniques derived from a variety of fields, mainly management.

Description
The work of a public health administrator is at the same time similar to and different from that of persons
engaged in administration in other fields. The administrative elements are similar. These include
supervising employees, coordinating programs, preparing budgets, monitoring programs, and evaluating
results and outcomes. Other aspects that are germane to the field of public health are different from other
fields. Public health administrators are concerned with health and disease prevention programs. They
administer educational campaigns and try to keep the people they serve healthy. Other health
professionals have similar aims of maintaining health but often are restorative or curative rather than
preventive.

There are 10 core public health functions with which an administrator must be familiar. There is a
specialized body of public health law. Data are constantly being generated. They must be sorted,
classified, stored, and interpreted. There are systems to keep track of diseases, vital events, waste
materials, insects and a host of other aspects of public health. Data that are developed must be organized
and presented to such various constituencies as members of the public, governmental agencies and
professionals. The overall health of the public being served must be periodically assessed. Intervention
programs must be created, implemented and evaluated. Other forms of research are conducted.

The day-to-day activities of a public health administrator include human resources management; finance;
performance measurement and improvement; communications and marketing; and maintaining relations
with members of the media and local government. A public health administrator must build relationships
with such various constituencies as consumer groups, health providers and legislators. Leadership is an
important aspect of public health administration.

1|ARVIN MPH-1
Work settings
The most common work setting for a public health administrator is an office within a local health
department or public health agency. Many consist of one or more counties. Each employs a staff of
professionals who provide specialized services. Each provider has a supervisor; larger organizations have
more than one layer of supervision. In addition, there are public and private organizations that provide
public health services. Governments also employ public health administrators. The number of persons
who provide some administrative services within the realm of public health is thus extensive.

Education and training

Basic preparation for a career in public health administration usually begins with a college degree. There
are persons currently in the work force with less formal education. These people have been typically been
working in the public health system for many years, having started at a time when formal training in
public health or administration was uncommon and largely unavailable. However, their numbers are
decreasing. As these people retire, their replacements are entering with more formal training and
credentials.

It is possible to learn administration from experience on the job but the time required is increasing each
year. As of 2001, a college degree is the functional minimum level of education for admission into the
field of public health administration. The actual field of study can vary but an undergraduate degree in
management, public health, nursing, community health, applied health, allied health or a related
discipline is useful. An optimal undergraduate curriculum should include course work in the following
subject areas: management, accounting, finance, economics, biology, environmental health or science,
marketing, business, health law, and budgeting. These courses will most likely be supplemented by
advanced formal education and practical on the-job training.

Initial training begins with job orientation. This is relatively similar for most entry-level positions in the
field. During orientation, the structure and reporting relationships of an organization are described. Basic
laws and other legal requirements are outlined. Job duties of a particular position are explained.
Organizational regulations and requirements are reviewed.

Ongoing training occurs at two levels. The first is specific to a particular working agency or environment.
It consists of office and organizational updates, program changes, and information pertaining to other
local issues. The second is specific to the field of public health. These updates typically occur at
professional conferences and through articles in the secondary literature of public health. They consist of
changes in programs that have been proposed or imposed by federal or other funding agencies. They also

2|ARVIN MPH-1
include new findings related to theories or practice that have been developed by researchers. Changes in
reporting procedures are in this category.

Advanced education and training

Advanced training in public health administration can be obtained from a formal graduate degree
program or through continuing education offerings. The most commonly earned graduate credential is a
Master of Public Health (MPH) degree. This degree provides a broad-based curriculum for anyone in the
field of public health and is appropriate for persons just entering the field as well as those with
experience. Other master-level preparations are also useful. These include Master of Business
Administration (MBA), Master of Health Services Administration (MHSA), Master of Public
Administration (MPA), Master of Hospital Administration (MHA) and Master of Management (MM)
degrees. The core requirements of the different degree programs are similar and typically include course
work in statistics, economics, management, finance, marketing, issues, law and human resource
administration. Elective courses help to tailor a graduate curriculum to the specific needs of each
individual student.

There are some differences among the degree courses described. These are typically related to the focus
afforded by the training. For example, an MPH degree is specifically concentrated on public health. An
MBA provides more general training. While both are useful, the MPH is focused on health. In an
analogous manner, MHSA course work focuses on issues related to managing health service providers
and organizations. MPA focuses on administration in a public or not for profit environment. The MHA is
geared for hospital administrators while the MM is very general. An MPH degree curriculum includes
courses in epidemiology and environmental health. The others typically substitute additional courses in
economics, accounting, or labor relations.

Some workers in public health administration require continuing education units to maintain a license or
certification. Examples of such workers include nurses, social workers, health officers, sanitarians, and
physicians. The rules for many of these professionals are not set by federal or national agencies but rather
may be specific to the state that has issued the credential. Professionals earning continuing education
credits may include courses and seminars that cover aspects of public health administration. In this way,
they acquire new and updated knowledge.

Public health administration as a profession does not require practitioners to be certified as of 2001. There
is a movement to require certification for public health administrators. If this trend becomes law, more
individuals will be seeking advanced education credits in the future. A likely degree option is the MPH.

3|ARVIN MPH-1
Reference:
 Halverson, Paul K., Arnold D. Kaluzny, and Curtis P. McLaughlin, Managed Care and Public
Health. Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen Publishers, 1998.
 Health Administration Press. Back to Basics: Foundations of Healthcare Management. Chicago, IL:
Health Administration Press, 2000.
 Kilpatrick, Anne O., and James A. Johnson, Handbook of Health Administration and Policy.New York:
Marcel Dekker, 1998.

4|ARVIN MPH-1