Public Health Concentrations and Specialties
Public health is a vast field, offering many specialties. Colleges and universities offering degrees in this discipline usually allow students to declare a concentration either online or on-campus through MPH programs. Declaring a concentration will enable them to focus their course work on one area of public health while developing the necessary skillset for success within that discipline. PublicHealthDegrees.org has put together an overview of top specialties within public health that translate into program concentrations within this discipline.
Be aware that schools and colleges sometimes combine related specialties to create one comprehensive focus (ex. Community Health and Health Promotion). They may also refer to their concentrations by different names (e.g. Industrial Hygiene instead of Occupational Health).
Biostatisticians Need Specialized Skills, Knowledge, and Techniques Biostatisticians must possess specialized skills, knowledge, and techniques for performing analyses on biological samples.
- Specialty Focus: Data collection, analysis, interpretation and presentation that has an impact on health outcomes.
- Educational Levels: Masters & Doctorate
- Program Results: The capacity to plan, design and analyze multiple health-related studies using statistical theory, bioinformatics methods, biostatistics procedures and scientific writing techniques.
- Common Work Environments – Academia and hospitals, independent research groups, public healthcare organizations, government agencies, and pharmaceutical companies.
Child & Maternal Health Degrees & Programs
- Specialty Area Focus: All aspects related to the development, mental, and social health of mothers, children, and families.
- Education Levels: Masters & Doctorate
- Program Results: Assessing biological components of an individual and their family’s health as well as socioeconomic and geographical influences that could impact it. Furthermore, planning and implementing health programs for mothers, babies, children, and families.
- Common Work Environments – Hospitals and healthcare centers, local hospitals, non-profits, social service agencies, and nonprofits.
Community Health Degrees and Programmes
- Specialty Focus: Every citizen within a community should be taken into consideration when designing public health policies, education programs, research initiatives, and awareness-building campaigns. This provides an expansive view on public health issues as well as educational opportunities, research findings, and awareness-building efforts.
- Education Levels: Bachelors, Masters & Doctorate
- Program Results: Capability to conduct community assessments and design, implement, evaluate health programs. An understanding of how illness and disease can impact people; an insight into how community health education can assist you.
Environmental Health Degrees and Programs
Environmental Health Degrees and Programs can lead to better preventative practices and a safer living environment, just two of the many advantages they provide. Common work environments include healthcare clinics, state/local governments agencies, health departments, non-profit organizations and academia; additionally these degrees and programs can be acquired.
- Specialty Focus: Human Health and Environment as it Affects Population Health.
- Education Levels: Bachelors, Masters & Doctorate
- Program Outcomes: Gain an insight into toxicology, disease prevention and occupational hazards. You’ll also discover how environmental factors, society and occupations shape people’s health outcomes.
- Common Work Environments: Academia and companies involved in chemical or pharmaceutical production, as well as environmental protection agencies at federal, state and local levels.
Programmes and Degrees in Epidemiology
- Specialty Focus: Investigating diseases and illnesses as well as their risks within communities.
- Education Levels: Master’s & Doctorate
- Program Results: Apply epidemiological and statistical methods to analyze data, design research projects and carry it out. Possess oral and written communication abilities as well as the capacity for carrying out daily investigations and performing laboratory work related to individual health.
- Common Work Environments encompass federal, state and local government agencies involved with Public Health as well as research laboratories that address pressing health issues.
Generalist Public Health Degrees & Programs
- Provide the foundation for five core disciplines within public health: Biostatistics & Epidemiology, Health Policy & Management, as well as Social & Behavioral Health.
- Education Levels: Bachelors, Masters & Doctorate
- Program Results: Capacity to accurately investigate, analyze, create and apply methods related to public healthcare research in order to further its studies.
- Common Work Environments – Government agencies and research facilities.
Global Health Degrees and Programs
- Focus Area: Ecology and Global Economy, including how these differences impact human health, wellness, and overall well-being. This site provides an informed perspective of potential solutions to prevalent healthcare-related problems.
- Education Levels: Bachelors, Masters & Doctorate
- Program Outcomes: You will possess the capacity to design, analyze and implement public health programs that promote wellbeing across communities. Even if you lack extensive expertise about everyday wellness issues, you’ll still be able to identify causes of widespread disease elsewhere and create policies for improved wellbeing when faced with uncertain environments.
- Common Work Environments: Government agencies, research facilities and non-profit organisations create common workspace environments.
Programs and Degrees in Health Equity
- Focus: Addressing disparities in healthcare access, treatment, and outcomes based on race/ethnicity, geographic residence, gender orientation and disability status.
- Education Levels: Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctorate
- Program Outcomes: Develop an extensive comprehension of health disparities and social determinants as well as the capacity to identify, implement, monitor and evaluate policies and interventions designed to promote equity in health outcomes.
- Common Work Environments – County, state and non-profit health departments.
Degrees & Programs in Health & Human Services
- Our specialty focus is to enhance people’s lives through counseling, psychology, social work skills as well as criminal justice methods and techniques.
- Education Levels: Bachelors, Masters & Doctorate
- Program Objectives: To enhance quality of life by preventing and remediating human suffering through case management, crisis/trauma resolution, advocacy, conflict resolution and community collaboration; knowledge of service & project management ethics systems management theory.
- Common Work Environments – Hospitals, Mental Health Facilities, and Nonprofits
Health Science Degrees and Programs
- Specialty Aim: Research, Application and Evaluation of Scientific Principles for Human Health
- Education Levels: Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate
- Program Results: Gain insights into optimizing efficiency when using technology in medical practice as well as research into developing new and improved medical technologies. Furthermore, an understanding of fundamental healthcare concepts like patient statistics and internal hospital functions as well as disease theory and medicine is necessary for success.
- Common Work Environments – Hospitals, Local, State and Government Agencies, Research Institutions and Community-based Health Organizations
Infectious Disease Programs and Degrees
- Specialty Attention: Researching and Preventing Widespread Illnesses and Disease
- Education Levels: Masters & Doctorate
- Program Results: Gain insight into how diseases spread through society and develop methods to control them. Educate people about diseases and teach them how to prevent them. Collect data regarding diseases and form hypotheses regarding their acquisition processes.
- Common Work Environments: Common workplaces include local, state and federal agencies as well as hospitals and research institutes.
Leadership in Public Health
- Area of Specialty Focus: Strategy Planning & Evaluation * Public Health Policy Design, Implementation & Analysis
- Education Levels: Master’s or doctorate
- Program Results: Equipping students with leadership, public health and management abilities so they can become leaders who can improve living conditions in local and global communities while creating positive change.
- Common Work Environments in Public Healthcare
Students and professionals working in occupational health can choose to specialize in various sectors.
- Degrees and Programs Available in Occupational Health
- Promoting healthier workplaces and communities through policies, campaigns, and health programs.
- Educational Levels Offered: Masters & Doctorate
- Program Results: Promoting and Fostering Sustainable Work Environments
- Common Work Environments Retail stores, commercial firms, regulatory organizations and governments; insurance carriers and petrochemical firms as well as heavy and light industry are all examples of common workplace environments.
Additional Resource:
https://www.who.int/europe/health-topics
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/communications-guide/what-is-public-health/
http://www.capitalareaphn.org/about/what-is-public-health