PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE ROLE OF ADVANCEMENTS IN LABORATORY

SALT Journal of Scientific Research in Healthcare
Volume 2, Issue 1, Page 08-10, Published on 06th Jan 2022

https://doi.org/10.56735/saltjsrh.ms2202010810

Review Article

LEYON SELVIN RAJ A AND *DHARA N PATEL

Department of Medical Laboratory Science,

Bapubhai Desaibhai Patel Institute of Paramedical Science (BDPIPS),

Charotar University of Science and Technology,

Charusat Campus, Gujarat, India. 

*Corresponding Author: Dr Dhara N Patel,  Department of  Medical Laboratory Science, Bapubhai Desaibhai Patel Institute of Paramedical Science (BDPIPS), Charotar University of Science and Technology, Charusat Campus, Gujarat, India.

ORCID ID: 0000-0002-4330-8158 

Email: [email protected] 

ABSTRACT

Disease surveillance and diagnosis are essential aspects of public health management, and the role of laboratories contributes to this. Progress in the laboratory plays an essential role in public health through efficient and effective diagnosis, leading to better public health management. In this article, we have discussed how advancements in laboratories have contributed to public health by being efficient to diagnose and cost-effective, available to all economic strata.

Keywords: Public health, Diagnosis, Laboratories. 

PUBLIC HEALTH

Public health is the science of promoting and improving human health through research and education through organized efforts (public health improvement programs). It focuses on studies and research on various topics that affect human health, whether psychological or physical, and its impacts on society to improve human health. The history of public health goes back centuries. Public health has been threatened by diseases such as plague, smallpox, and cholera in the past. Later, in the 19th-century, public health became more focused on environmental issues such as clean water supplies, waste disposal and better housing, which were responsible for spreading infectious diseases such as cholera. Over the next century, the main public health threat shifted from infection to chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, respiratory disease, and accidents caused by lifestyle changes. Public health services are also involved in mass screening and vaccinations to educate and raise awareness in society (Naidoo et al., 2010).

LABORATORIES IN PUBLIC HEALTH

Laboratories play a significant role in public health by engaging in emergency preparedness and response, environmental health, food safety, global health, infectious diseases, informatics etc.,  from the past five decades, the laboratories are advancing as we discover new techniques and technologies. These advancements play a vital role in public health by knowing diseases and their effective diagnosis, surveillance, relevancy and capacity, and creating effective control strategies (CDC, 2018; Dowdle et al., 2011).

ADVANCEMENTS IN LABORATORIES

The advancements in laboratories lead to the retrieval of valuable and precise data about diseases. More precisely, molecular biology and advanced electronic technologies are revolutionizing clinical diagnosis in this modern world, which has a valuable and essential role in public health management (Dowdle et al., 2011). However, not all are lucky enough to receive the expanded diagnosis (Balarajan et al., 2011; Younger, 2016). Advances in the laboratory play an inevitable role in public health. As science improves, it becomes easier and, in the meantime, it becomes difficult to organize.

CONCLUSION

The overall concept should be non-discriminatory and serve all people; the findings for the further development of laboratory diagnostics should be geared towards economic efficiency; and more studies should be focused on the economic efficiency of various tests (Babigumira et al., 2017) so that it can better serve all sections of people.

REFERENCES

  1. Babigumira JB, Gelband H,  Garrison LPJ. Cost-Effectiveness of Strategies for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Febrile Illness in Children. Disease Control Priorities, Third Edition (Volume 6): Major Infectious Diseases. 2017; 385–400. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-0524-0ch15
  2. Balarajan Y, Selvaraj S,  Subramanian S. Health care and equity in India. Lancet. 2011; 377(9764), 505. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61894-6
  3. CDC. Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Capabilities: National Standards for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Public Health. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2018.
  4. Dowdle WR, Mayer LW, Steinberg KK, Ghiya ND, Popovic T, Centers for Disease Control. Laboratory contributions to public health. MMWR. Surveillance Summaries : Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Surveillance Summaries / CDC. 2011; 60 (4), 27–34.
  5. Naidoo J, Wills J, Naidoo J,  Naidoo J. Developing practice for public health and health promotion.  2010. Bailliere Tindall/Elsevier.
  6. Younger DS. Health Care in India. Neurologic Clinics. 2016; 34(4), 1103–1114. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.NCL.2016.06.005.

ARTICLE TYPE: Review Article; Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier (ORCID) ID of corresponding author: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4330-8158; ETHICAL: NA;

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: None;

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: The authors declare that there was no financial aid received.;

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: No conflict of interest associated with this review work.;

AUTHORS CONTRIBUTION: L.S.R.A., wrote the paper and D.N.P., supervised and edited the review.;

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR AFFILIATIONS: Dr Dhara N Patel, Department of  Medical Laboratory Science, Bapubhai Desaibhai Patel Institute of Paramedical Science (BDPIPS), Charotar University of Science and Technology, Charusat Campus, Gujarat, India.;

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR EMAIL: [email protected];

ARTICLE CITATION: Raj A LS, Patel DN. Public health and the role of advancement in laboratory. SALT J Sci Res Healthc. 2022 January 5; 2(1): 01-07.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

© Leyon Selvin Raj A & Dhara N Patel.

Originally published in the SALT Journal of Scientific Research in Healthcare (https://saltjsrh.in/), 06.01.2022.

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