The Role of Public Health in Extending Life Expectancy in the U.S during the Last 100 Years (Essay Sample)

Title Author Institution Date The Role of Public Health in Extending Life Expectancy in the U.S during the Last 100 Years Life expectancy in the U.S. was low in the 1900s where it was an average of 50 years (Butler, 2008). This is very low considering that it is an age where people have not retired from work. Today, this has changed with the average person expected to live up to 77 years. The role of public health in this turn of events is in ensuring that people are vaccinated against diseases such as polio, diphtheria, whooping cough and measles, all of which can easily kill a large number of people if not prevented. Also, public health ensures that there are safety systems in place to save people's lives such as ambulances with paramedics to save people's lives (Butler, 2008). Public health also prevents people from being infected with water-borne diseases by filtering and chemically treating the water that people drink every day. This policy making body also spearheaded the enactment of laws such as the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 that illegalized the selling of contaminated food, and created the Food and Drug Administration (Butler, 2008). The latter regulates labeling laws and the inspection of meat by the government to ensure that it is safe (Butler, 2008). In addressing the quality of life and health status of the growing elderly population, public health policy requires that the elderly get immunized and regular health screenings (Phillips & Gaylord, 1985). This ensures that they remain healthy and monitored so as to prevent the diseases that are likely to ...