Uncovering Health Issues: The National Institute of Health's 125-Year Journey - Research Paper

Introduction

The National Institute of Health is a Congress funded medical research agency with a mandate of providing leadership and giving direction to institutions with the responsibility of taking care of health-related issues of American Citizens. The National Institute of Health started way back in 1887 as a hygiene department, to specifically carry research and tests on seamen as a health precaution of possible bacteriological infections such as cholera and yellow fever that were highly infectious at that particular time. The laboratory was then moved to Washington in 1891 and recognized into law in 1901 when it received funding for construction of a new facility equipped well enough for research and investigation of contagious illnesses and issues to do with the general public health (Office of NIH, n.d). The changes of the naming from the Hygiene Laboratory as it was known to the National Institute of Health took effect in 1930 as a result of the Ransdell act. To have a better comprehension of the agency various components including its mission, functions and currents status have to be analyzed

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The mission of the National Institute of Health is to research the nature and behaviour of living organisms including human beings and other living cells and the usage of knowledge from the research to improve human health, elongate life and contain infections and tissue deformation (National Institute of Health, n.d). To ensure that the agency remains in line with its mission, the agency works towards achieving a set of objectives and goals which include:

• To develop up to date equipment and human resource knowledgeable in current affairs and disease engineering techniques that will ensure the effectiveness and ability of the agency to research and prevent complex diseases.
• To provide an environment that encourages innovation, creativity, new techniques, and how best to apply them to improve health standards and practical prevention risks such as epidemics and pandemics.
• To carry out extensive research in the medical field and complimentary sciences to ensure all loopholes are sealed and exhausted hence ensuring a worthwhile return on public investment.
• To uphold scientific integrity, accountability and ensure of their duty to society in terms of social responsibility in practising science.

Agency Functions

The National Institute of Health is no doubt one of the most critical governmental agencies in the country and to the medical world in general. Human health is always under invisible threats that require a high level of dedication and expertise to decipher the threats and to find out remedies and preventive measures for such risks. Since its inception, the National Institute of Health has done commendable work in the research of infectious and contagious infections that could otherwise have had dire effects on the human population (National Institute of Health, n.d). The success of the agency has ensured a healthy population that is productive both economically and socially. Some of the main functions of the agency include advising the government on the matter to do with disease control, conducting research and develop standards for disease treatment and techniques

In cases of epidemics, the government relies heavily on the directives and advice of the NIH for effective management and control of diseases. The agency has both the capacity, equipment and expert personnel including scientists and specialists who enable it to carry out sufficient research on any health-related issues. The most recent COVID-19 pandemic that originated from China and spread to the whole world is an example of how the government utilizes the advice and directives of the NIH. Because of the high contagious rate, the U.S government gave a directive to the public to self-quarantine and guidelines on how to prevent infections as efforts towards finding a vaccine continue at the institute. The institute is also charged with the sole responsibility of developing standard techniques used in treating and diagnosing diseases that affect the general population (NIH, n.d). The advanced techniques are then dissipated to health facilities and institutions as the only approved and accepted disease management and control methods.

Agency News

The main issue that the National Institute of Health is dealing with at the moment is the COVID-19 pandemic, being one of the most threatening pandemics to have taken over the world. All efforts and resources have been directed towards finding the cure or a vaccine to eradicate the disease. The spread of COVID-19 in the U.S has been so radical with cases of infection rising as each day goes by (Grange et al., 2020). Due to the rising number of cases, research on the subject needs to be intensified for a solution to be found out a soon as possible. The effect of the emergence of COVID 19 on the personnel management of the NIH is that; there is a likelihood of more scientists and assistants being hired to help manage the situation through new ideas and extra hands.

The Rationale for Selecting Agency

The selection of this agency is based on current issues affecting the health sector both in the United States and the world. Due to this reason, the National Institute of Health is the most dependable agency that holds key answers to the COVID-19 pandemic that has disrupted the regular livelihood. Additionally, health is an essential aspect of humanity because without quality health assurance all other sectors both social and economic activities become dysfunctional.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the National Institute of Health is mandated to carry out critical health-related issues. It is dependent upon to provide leadership to all health facilities, including hospitals concerning acceptable standards in disease management and treatment. The institute also gives training to the health personnel to ensure high-quality health services. Currently, the agency, in conjunction with the government, is working towards a solution of the COVID: 19 pandemics.

References

Grange, E. S., Neil, E. J., Stoffel, M., Singh, A. P., Tseng, E., Resco-Summers, K., & Sutton, P.

R. (2020). Responding to COVID-19: The UW Medicine Information Technology Services Experience. Applied Clinical Informatics, 11(02), 265-275. https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/32268390/Responding_to_COVID-19:_The_UW_Medicine_Information_Technology_Services_Experience.

National Institute of Health, (n.d), The Functions of NIH Under ordinance 1980. https://www.nih.org.pk/functions/?

National Institutes of Health, New and Events. Retrieved from https://www.nih.gov/news-events

Office of NIH History, (n.d) A short History of the National Institutes of Health. https://history.nih.gov/exhibits/history/index.html

U.S.Department of Health & Human Services, (n.d) Mission and Goals. Turning discovery into health. https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/what-we-do/mission-goals