COURSE DESCRIPTION

Public Health is the science of identifying conditions, factors and mechanisms for good and bad health, identifying and implementing effective interventions to promote and prevent public health.

FUNCTIONS OF A PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICER

1. Prevention and control of communicable diseases in the community.
2. Rehabilitation of environmental health and Promotion of community health.
3. Management of solid wastes in both rural and urban communities.
4. Plan and conduct health promotion/education activities in the community.
5. Execution of public health services at points of entry/points of exit and inland depot containers in the country.
6. Enforcement of public health legislation and regulations.
7. Planning and implementation of water and out sanitation activities in the communities/ institutions.
8. Perform Food safety and quality control.
9. Planning and implementation of community water supply and quality control services.
10. Planning, implementation and evaluation of public health projects/programmes.
11. Training and guiding students on practical placement.
12. Management of health information systems
13. conducting operational research.
14. Perform disease surveillance and assessments
15. Vetting of building plans and supervision of building construction.
16. Inspection of premises.
17. Participate in physical planning in urban and rural areas
18. Monitoring and control of all forms of environmental pollution
19. Perform environmental risk assessments and audits
20. Management of school health programmes

CAREER PROGRESSION

Levels of learning include CERTIFICATE, DIPLOMA, BACHELORS, MASTERS, and PHD.

As public health officer in Kenya, you can grow in the following roles in the ministry of health  

• Senior Public Health Officer: A role designated as “K” in the Scheme of Service
• Chief Public Health Officer: A role designated as “L” in the Scheme of Service
• Principal Public Health Officer: A role designated as “M” in the Scheme of Service
• Assistant Director, Public Health: A role designated as “N” in the Scheme of Service
• Senior Assistant Director, Public Health: A role designated as “P” in the Scheme of Service
• Deputy Director, Public Health: A role designated as “Q” in the Scheme of Service
• Director, Public Health: A role designated as “Z” in the Scheme of Service

Other career paths in public health include: 

• Epidemiologist

Studies the causes, patterns, and effects of disease and health conditions in populations.

• Health Services Manager

• Oversees the operations of healthcare departments or facilities. They are responsible for staffing, budgeting, compliance, and efficien
• Monitoring and Evaluation officer
• Research Assistant
• Trainer/Lecturer
• Health Promotion
• Disease surveillance