What is Public Health? 
Public health is the proactive, preventative approach to health concerns that affect a society as a whole. Public health is concerned with many facets of life, including emergency medical services, environmental health, maternal and children’s health, nutrition and wellness. Public health provides a variety of services to help ensure the health and safety of the communities in which we live. This includes but is not limited to:
• Prevents epidemics and the spread of disease
• Protects against environmental hazards
• Prevents injuries
• Promotes and encourages healthy behaviors
• Responds to disasters and assists communities in recovery
• Assures the quality and accessibility of health services
For more information about the other Nebraska health departments, visit:
Local Health Departments - DHHS
Learn about the history of public health in Nebraska here:
Brief History of Public Health in Nebraska
This video from the Nebraska Association of Local Health Directors demonstrates how Nebraska’s local public health departments are making the healthy choice the easy choice for all Nebraskans.
The 10 Essential Public Health Services
- Monitor health status to identify and solve community health problems
- Diagnose and Investigate health problems and health hazards to the community
- Inform, Educate and Empower people about health issues
- Mobilize community partnerships to identify and solve health problems
- Develop Policies and Plans that support individual and community health efforts
- Enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety
- Link people to needed personal health services and assure the provision of healthcare when otherwise unavailable
- Assure a competent public and personal health care workforce
- Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility and quality of personal and population-based health services for new insights and innovative solutions to health problems
- Research for new insights and innovative solutions to health problems