Essay Example on CDC's Accountability: Controlling the Spread of Hepatitis A (2017-2020)

Introduction

The CDC division is responsible for assisting multiple state and health care departments with outbreaks of hepatitis A that is spread through contact of person-to-person. The response of the CDC towards the hepatitis A outbreak in 2017 through 2020 shows their accountability into impacting individual patient safety (Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2020). To individual safety, CDC seeks to control the introduction and spread of infectious diseases. The organization provided consultation and also assistance to other nations to improve their disease prevention and control.

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CDC ensured individual safety by creating and implementing programs that sought to sustain a strong national workforce in disease prevention and also control. The organization also conducted national programs that were to improve the performance of clinical laboratories. The organization also provided specific preventive health categorical grant programs as well as the provision of program expertise and assistance to respond to the hepatitis matters.

How CDC Impacts Public Health Safety

CDC responded by supporting vaccine supply as well as vaccine policy development. CDC sent disease detectives more so to the affected areas for evaluation as well as assisting in the response of outbreak. CDC also alerted other jurisdictions of public health for any increases in disease. CDC also encouraged all the jurisdictions to be watchful for increases in the cases of hepatitis A. The organization worked with both the state and local health officials to ensure that they targeted the hepatitis A vaccine to the correct at-risk populations and make sure that the supply is adequate.

The recommendations by the CDC towards public health safety included ensuring that all children got vaccinated against hepatitis A at the age of 1 year (Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2020). Similarly, parents or caregivers who were unsure that a child had been vaccinated were required to consult the health-care provider of the child to confirm the status of vaccination. CDC continues to develop educational materials for supporting the outbreak of diseases.

CDC Definition

Center for Disease Control and Prevention is an organization tasked with the responsibility of serving as the national focus for the development and application of methods for disease prevention and control. Similarly, the organization focuses on environmental health, health promotion, and also health education activities that are designed for the improvement of the health of people. In accomplishing the mission, CDC focuses on identifying and also defining most preventable health problems. The organization also maintains active surveillance of diseases through performing investigations, collection of data, analysis, and distribution.

New Skillset

Some of the skills that I would get from the assignment include aspects of management, leadership, and coordination. CDC’s role as per their operations shows that there is a need for the provision of leadership to states that is necessary for implementing the set programs to ensure disease control and prevention. Alongside the leadership activities, coordination is more important because all states need to achieve the goal of preventing diseases. Coordination skills are necessary for consumer affairs activities because policy guidance and technical expertise provide the promotion of development that the organization requires (LeDuc & Pflieger, 2016). These skills will be vital in the future to put into use when providing services necessary for the prevention of diseases and working with other departments. Participation in achieving goals and objectives for CDC and also providing overall direction to respond to emergencies are necessary skills to every individual.

References

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2020). Viral Hepatitis. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/outbreaks/2017March-HepatitisA.htm

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2020). Center for Disease Control and Prevention https://www.cdc.gov/maso/pdf/cdcmiss.pdf

LeDuc, W. J. & Pflieger, A. (2016). The Center for disease control and prevention’s role in international coordination and collaboration in response to the SARS outbreak. NCBI. From https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK92447/