Public Health Indicators Research Articles

Tying Overdose Data to Action: North Carolina's Opioid and Substance Use Action Plan Data Dashboard.

From 2000 to 2020, more than 28 000 North Carolina (NC) residents died of drug overdose. In response, NC Department of Health and Human Services worked with community partners to develop an Opioid and Substance Use Action Plan (OSUAP), now in its third iteration. The NC OSUAP data dashboard brings together data on 15 public health indicators and 16 local actions across 8 strategies. We share innovations in design, data structures, user tasks, and visual elements over 5 years of dashboard development and maintenance, with a special focus and supplemental material covering the technical details and techniques that dashboard design and implementation teams may benefit from.

Societal Attention to Heat Waves Can Indicate Public Health Impacts

Abstract Both the frequency and intensity of hot temperature extremes are expected to increase in the coming decades, challenging various socioeconomic sectors including public health. Therefore, societal attention data available in real time, such as Google search attention, could help monitor heat-wave impacts in domains with lagged data availability. Here, we jointly analyze societal attention and health impacts of heat waves in Germany at weekly time scales. We find that Google search attention responds similarly to hot temperatures as indicators of public health impacts, represented by excess mortality and hospitalizations. This emerges from piecewise linear relationships of Google search attention to and health impacts of temperature. We can then determine temperature thresholds above which both attention and public health are affected by heat. More generally, given the clear and similar response of societal indicators to heat, we conclude that heat waves can and should be defined from a joint societal and meteorological perspective, whereby temperatures are compared with thresholds established using societal data. A better joint understanding of societal attention and health impacts offers the potential to better manage future heat waves.

Analysis of the Distribution of Health Workers and Health Facilities in Karanganyar Regency in 2022

Health, as one of the pillars of a nation's development, has an important role. This is in line with the understanding of the World Health Organization that there are 12 public health indicators as proxies for health indicators in the Sustainable Development Goals. However, in Karanganyar Regency, the typography is located on the slopes of Mount Lawu, and most of them are rural areas, resulting in an uneven distribution of health workers and health service facilities. Therefore, this study aims to determine the distribution of health workers in Karanganyar Regency so that it can be a concern in formulating policies regarding the distribution of health workers in urban and rural areas. This study uses secondary data collected from the 2022 Karanganyar Regency Health Human Resource Information System data and the 2022 Karanganyar Regency Health Office Health Profile data. From the analysis results, it is known that the ideal distribution of health workers in Karanganyar Regency is based on the national ratio and is still concentrated around the district government and areas close to urban areas.

Подходы к интегральной оценке эффективности первичных профилактических мероприятий для принятия управленческих решений

Standard indicators currently used to evaluate efficiency of various prevention measures do not determine the impact of these measures on public health indicators and achievement of target results. P u r p o s e of this study is to develop approaches of integral assessment efficiency evaluation of public health system primary prevention measures. M a t e r i a l s a n d m e t h o d s . The analysis was conducted in Omsk region municipal districts during the period from 2018 to 2022. The materials for this research were data from reporting forms of federal sectoral monitoring, morbidity of the population data, information about prevention measures volume and quality. The method of integral efficiency assessment was used. This method is based on arithmetic mean of the selected general indices of measures that include individual indices of public health measures efficiency. Efficiency assessment of measures aimed at population alcohol consumption reduction is used as an example. R e s u l t s . Individual indices that evaluate retail alcohol sales rate, the proportion of persons with risk factors, their involvement in dispensary supervision, involvement of the population in preventive measures, were created to assess the overall index of measures aimed at alcohol consumption reduction. Individual indices are presented with baseline and target values. The analysis of the dynamics of actual indicators of the volume of alcohol consumption reduction measures is given. Integral index of prevention measures efficiency is the arithmetic mean of the general indices, including six components of primary prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases that have a significant impact on public health indicators, including: tobacco consumption reduction, obesity prevalence, proportion of the population with physical activity increase, rational nutrition, healthy lifestyle. The closer the integral index is to the value of 1, the more effective preventive measures are. The integral index of primary prevention measures efficiency in Omsk in 2022 is at 0,46 points. C o n c l u s i o n . Implementing the integral efficiency assessment method allowed to use unified approach in evaluation of the current primary prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases measures model, to conduct a comparative evaluation of measures aimed at strengthening public health in Omsk region municipal districts, showed the direction of additional measures to improve the efficiency of the process as a whole.

Monkeypox Outbreak in Peru.

Monkeypox (Mpox) is a zoonotic disease caused by the Orthopoxvirus monkeypox virus (MPXV). Since 1970, outbreaks of MPXV have occurred in several Sub-Saharan African countries. However, from May 2022 to April 2023, recent outbreaks of Mpox occurred in several countries outside of Africa, and these cases quickly spread to over 100 non-endemic countries on all continents. Most of these cases were found in the region of the Americas and the Europe region. In Latin America, the highest all-age Mpox rates per million inhabitants were in Peru, Colombia, Chile, and Brazil. Given its global impact, Mpox was declared as an international Public Health Emergency by WHO in July 2022. MPXV infection disproportionately affects men who have sex with men and members of the HIV-infected population. Vaccination is the current strategy for controlling and preventing Mpox in high-risk groups. In this context, Peru has the fourth-highest number of Mpox cases in Latin America and faces significant challenges in disease control. Because of this, in this review, we discuss the epidemiology, public health indicators, and prevention of Mpox in the 2022 Peru outbreak so that health authorities can join forces to control MPXV transmission.

Peculiarities of information and analytical support in conducting epidemiological surveillance in the public health system

Objective. The purpose of this study was to determine the features of information and analytical support in the conduct of epidemiological surveillance in the system of public health institutions. Methods. The research was performed on the basis of the following methods: dialectical - to determine the essence of information and analytical support of public health institutions; functional, comparative analysis - to analyze the activities of the State Institution "Kirovohrad Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine"; model, integrated approaches - to develop a model of information and analytical support for the activities of public health institutions and measures for its implementation in practice; methods of statistical analysis - to determine the features of research on environmental objects and the dynamics of infectious diseases. Results and discussion. A study of the functioning of public health institutions, in particular the Kirovohrad Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, identified general areas for development and implementation to improve public health. Conclusions : In the process of improving the information and analytical support of the activities of epidemiological surveillance institutions in the public health system, its key aspects of development were presented. More detailed solutions to public health problems were suggested. Tasks have been formulated to improve the information and analytical support of the activities of epidemiological surveillance institutions in the public health system. It is established that all these aspects, which are related to improving the information and analytical function of public health institutions, for full use must be integrated into a single automated system with the creation and maintenance of information databases and information exchange functions, including real time. The structure of the model of information and analytical support for the activities of public health institutions has been developed. The main elements of the information-analytical system of epidemiological surveillance institutions in the public health system should be: databases of necessary information, system of indicators of public health, state of the environment, data processing system, communication system, transmission, information protection, system forecasting changes in public health indicators, the base of standard management decisions in certain circumstances (combinations of indicators), equipped with digital user workstations.

The Occurrence of Serotypes and Virulence Genes of Listeria monocytogenes in Various Food Products

Background: Given that controlling Listeria contamination is very important in food chain system, the knowledge of their prevalence in food is very important. Therefore, this study aims to examine the prevalence of important Listeria species in various food types and evaluate serotype distribution, as well as the study of the virulence factors of L. monocytogenes.
 Methods: During July 2018 and January 2020, 900 food samples were collected in the North of Iran, including beef, chicken, fish, shrimp, milk and yogurt, green vegetables, mixed vegetable salad, Olivier salad, and cottage cheese. After isolation and identification steps, each bacterial DNA was extracted. Then, using specific primers, species, serotypes, and virulence genes of Listeria isolates were evaluated in the samples by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method.
 Results: The test results of 136 samples (15.1%) were positive for Listeria spp. and the most contaminated food was beef (35%) followed by chicken (29%) and green vegetables (23%). The most isolated Listeria spp. was L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii. Among L. monocytogenes isolates, the dominant serogroups were 1/2a and 4b; furthermore, all of the isolates of this species harbored four virulence genes, including hlyA, plc, iap, and actA.
 Conclusion: These reports highlighted the importance of food safety in various food products, particularly raw meats and vegetables. Moreover, contamination of healthy foods such as fish and vegetables with Listeria is an indicator of public health.

Polyphenols and Cardiometabolic Health: Knowledge and Concern among Romanian People.

The cardiometabolic health of the population is a crucial indicator of public health, considering the significant impact of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes on global mortality. Determining the population's knowledge and the predictors of these pathologies is essential in developing effective educational and clinical strategies for the prevention and management of cardiometabolic risk (CMR). Polyphenols are natural compounds with a multitude of beneficial effects on cardiometabolic health. This study explored the current knowledge, understanding, and awareness of CMR, the benefits of polyphenols among Romanians, and how sociodemographic and clinical characteristics influence this aspect. Five hundred forty-six subjects responded anonymously to an online questionnaire designed to assess their knowledge. The data were collected and analyzed based on gender, age, education level, and BMI status. Most respondents expressed concern to a great or very great extent about their health (78%) and food (60%), with significant differences (p < 0.05) depending on age, educational level, and BMI status. Of the respondents, 64.8% declared that they were familiar with the CMR term. Still, the results showed a weak correlation between the stated risk factors and the self-assessment of increased risk (r = 0.027) for CVD or diabetes. Only 35% of the respondents reported a good or very good knowledge of the term "polyphenols", 86% recognized the antioxidant effect, and significantly fewer (26%) recognized the prebiotic effect. Developing and implementing targeted educational strategies to enhance learning and individual behaviors related to CMR factors and the benefits of polyphenols is necessary.

A systems approach to the perceptions of the integration of public health into pharmacy practice: A qualitative study

BackgroundPharmacists, as health professionals, are ideally positioned to support the health and wellbeing of populations, in addition to their role of providing individualised health care. ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to explore current opinion on the contribution of pharmacists to public health and how this may be enhanced to positively impact public health indicators. MethodsA total of 24 pharmacists from Australia, United Kingdom, Canada and the United States of America, and Australian public health professionals and consumers participated in semi-structured interviews between January and October 2021. Interpretive thematic analysis was applied with coding of transcripts using the constant comparison method. Themes were developed and named in accordance with Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory of development. ResultsPharmacists contribute to public health and have important roles in health education and illness prevention services. Strong enablers in community pharmacy include trust by consumers and ease of accessibility to pharmacists. Pharmacists are viewed as leaders in communities and contribute to the health system broadly in areas such as medication policy and public health organisations.Participants suggested that pharmacist contributions to public health are often unrecognized by the pharmacy profession, health professionals and consumers, and could be developed to allow effective contributions. Strategies to improve pharmacist contributions included clarifying public health-related terminology, increased development of pharmacy roles and reform for community pharmacies to participate in health prevention and promotion services. Integration of public health in pharmacy education, professional development, and recognition of pharmacy roles across all system levels were also identified as important. ConclusionsThe study indicated that pharmacists currently contribute to the improvement of public health. However, development strategies are required for this to be more effective in integrating public health approaches into their professional practice to be recognized for their public health-related roles.

Design of effective outpatient sentinel surveillance for COVID-19 decision-making: a modeling study

BackgroundDecision-makers impose COVID-19 mitigations based on public health indicators such as reported cases, which are sensitive to fluctuations in supply and demand for diagnostic testing, and hospital admissions, which lag infections by up to two weeks. Imposing mitigations too early has unnecessary economic costs while imposing too late leads to uncontrolled epidemics with unnecessary cases and deaths. Sentinel surveillance of recently-symptomatic individuals in outpatient testing sites may overcome biases and lags in conventional indicators, but the minimal outpatient sentinel surveillance system needed for reliable trend estimation remains unknown.MethodsWe used a stochastic, compartmental transmission model to evaluate the performance of various surveillance indicators at reliably triggering an alarm in response to, but not before, a step increase in transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The surveillance indicators included hospital admissions, hospital occupancy, and sentinel cases with varying levels of sampling effort capturing 5, 10, 20, 50, or 100% of incident mild cases. We tested 3 levels of transmission increase, 3 population sizes, and conditions of either simultaneous transmission increase or lagged increase in the older population. We compared the indicators’ performance at triggering alarm soon after, but not prior, to the transmission increase.ResultsCompared to surveillance based on hospital admissions, outpatient sentinel surveillance that captured at least 20% of incident mild cases could trigger an alarm 2 to 5 days earlier for a mild increase in transmission and 6 days earlier for a moderate or strong increase. Sentinel surveillance triggered fewer false alarms and averted more deaths per day spent in mitigation. When transmission increase in older populations lagged the increase in younger populations by 14 days, sentinel surveillance extended its lead time over hospital admissions by an additional 2 days.ConclusionsSentinel surveillance of mild symptomatic cases can provide more timely and reliable information on changes in transmission to inform decision-makers in an epidemic like COVID-19.

Samoprocijenjene potrebe starijih osoba za uslugama gerontoloških centara izvaninstitucijske skrbi u odnosu na njihovu funkcionalnu sposobnost

Aim of this paper is to determine whether there is a difference between the expressed need and choice of priorities of the non-institutional care services provided by gerontological centres and the category of their functional independence in the elderly who are on the official waiting list for placement in the decentralized Nursing home Split “Vukovarska”.Methods: The research was conducted in November 2021. The participants were aged 65 and over who were on the official waiting list of the Nursing home Split. The research was conducted via telephone survey with the guaranteed anonymity of the participants. The following questionnaires were used: Questionnaire on sociodemographic characteristics, Questionnaire for self-assessment of elderly persons on the need and choice of offered services of non-institutional care, Barthel index modified according to Shah S., Vanclay F. and Cooper B. (MBI).Results: The study included 182 participants. There was a statistically significant difference between the participants’ stated need and choice of priorities for the offered services of the gerontological centre and the category of functional independence of the participants in relation to offered services: help at home (p&amp;lt;0.001); day stay (p&amp;lt;0.001); programs of continuous physical, mental, work, and cultural and entertainment activities (p&amp;lt;0.001); medical, social and psychological services (p&amp;lt;0.002); technical assistance (p&amp;lt;0.001).Conclusions: This study indicates that the functional independence of the elderly is an important gerontological public health indicator in the planning of non-institutional care for the elderly population.

“Drug resistence index”: A new public health indicator for antibiotic resistance

“Drug resistence index”: A new public health indicator for antibiotic resistance

Relating biodiversity with health disparities of human population: An ecological study across the United States

Understanding biodiversity's contributions to human health is the first step toward fostering synergies between biodiversity conservation and health promotion - two major targets of UN's Sustainable Development Goals. The One Health approach acknowledges the health of people and biodiversity are interconnected and facing common threats. In this study, we aimed to unveil the geographical association between avian biodiversity and population health across the US. In this ecological study, we combined citizen science bird data from eBird, population health data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, and county-level statistics of population characteristics, including socio-economics, healthcare service etc. Multivariate linear regression analyses were performed between bird biodiversity (measured by rarefied species richness of birds), key indicators of general public health (e.g., cause-specific mortality rate), and socio-economic health determinants of 2751 US counties. We found that a higher number of bird species was significantly associated with longer life expectancy after confounding adjustment (regression coefficient (95% CIs), 0·005 (0·003, 0·008)). Bird species richness calculated using the rarefied method consistently accounted for variance in age-specific mortality risks in both very young and old age groups (R2 from 2% to 4%). Rarefied species richness of birds was negatively correlated with the majority of cause-specific deaths (12 out of 21 mutually exclusive causes of death), indicating a general synergy effect between biodiversity and human health. The associations with the top causes of deaths were regarded as highly significant, with considerable effect sizes, for example, for cardiovascular diseases (regression coefficient (95% CIs), −0·242 (−0·311, −0·174)). Our findings show human health is inseparable from the health of the shared environment and the well-being of all species. Bird species richness offers a valuable means to understand large-scale relationships between human health and the health of the environment. To enable equitable sharing of biodiversity's benefits to human health, more efforts should be made to understand two-way socio-ecological mechanism underlying human–biodiversity interactions.

Dynamic Characteristics of Medical and Demographic Indicators of Public Health in Arkhangelsk Oblast in the First Twenty Years of the XXI Century: Retrospective Analytical Descriptive Study

Background. Assessing the dynamic characteristics of basic public health indicators is essential to ensure the sustainable human development, quality of life and health care system performance in the Arctic and Subarctic regions of Russia. The study is based on the need for constant monitoring of the medical and demographic situation in order to provide timely correction of measures for improving the health care system performance.Objective — to assess the trends in basic medical and demographic indicators characterizing the population health of the Arkhangelsk Oblast. Target population: population of the Arkhangelsk Oblast, no impacts, no outcomes.Methods. Criteria for sample or group formation: the research was performed by means of a continuous method based on the study of population of medical and demographic events. The main inclusion criterion was the availability of information about a medical and demographic event in the Arkhangelsk Oblast in the Russian Fertility and Mortality database (RusFMD), the database of the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat). Estimated parameters: life expectancy, infant mortality, disability, morbidity, natural population growth and chronicity rates related to the population of the Arkhangelsk Oblast excluding the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The study was conducted between 2021 and 2022. The following measurement methods were used: autoregressive and integrated moving average, Irwin method to identify abnormal values, linear regression, time series dynamics, and method of chain substitutions. The research was performed by means of a continuous method based on studying the population of medical and demographic events.Results. Natural population growth and chronicity rates showed a stable negative trend, which indicated a decrease in the reproduction potential of the population, and an increase in chronic forms of diseases. Life expectancy, primary morbidity, and primary disability demonstrated a positive trend, but with a tendency to exhaust the positive potential. Infant mortality was the only indicator that consistently showed a positive trend. No additional results of the research were reported.Conclusion. The results of the study demonstrated the deterioration in population health of the Arkhangelsk Oblast, which may be due to a decline in living standards and quality of life as well as to a decrease in health care system performance and a rise in its dysfunctionality. The study has no limitations.

SISTEMA ACGEST PARA ASSISTÊNCIA À SAÚDE DE GESTANTES E PUÉRPERAS NA ATENÇÃO PRIMÁRIA

Ensuring quality prenatal and puerperal care is one of the public health policies in Brazil aimed at women and developed by nurses and community health agents (CHA) in primary care. Technology can improve the work process of these teams by making scheduling, tracking, and reporting easier. The objective was to create an integrated system between the routines of the CHA, the pregnant/postpartum women and the management carried out in the health services for this public. Then, through experimental research, field observations and knowledge of the great need to implement information technology (IT) in the public health environment, AcGest was modeled and developed. For this, IT needs were considered for use by the CHA, pregnant/postpartum women and health units. The system was divided into three modules: two applications for Android smartphones (pregnant and CHA modules) and one for the Web as a management module, which will be used on computers in health units. The system was tested in a simulated environment by the researchers and a health team in the city of Parnamirim-RN. The first version is ready, but it needs to be tested with pregnant/postpartum women, which will only be possible after submission to the ethics committee, for functionality improvements and usability evaluation. The application has great potential to improve routine care for this public, maternal and child health indicators, and serves as a model for further research in the area, as will be seen throughout this article.

Cerebral palsy as a public health indicator.

Cerebral palsy as a public health indicator.

ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКА ИНВАЛИДНОСТИ НА ТЕРРИТОРИЯХ ЕВРОПЕЙСКОГО СЕВЕРА НА ПРИМЕРЕ АРХАНГЕЛЬСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ И РЕСПУБЛИКИ КОМИ

Current: Disability is an important indicator of public health. Unfavorable climatic and environmental conditions of the northern Arctic regions lead to increased risks of high levels of morbidity and disability of the population. The aim of this study was to study the features of the prevalence of disability among the population of the Arctic territories of the European North of the Russian Federation by conducting a comparative analysis of disability indicators in various categories: age, gender, as well as depending on the severity of the condition (disability group). Materials and methods. The analysis was carried out on the basis of information materials of the Federal Register of Disabled Persons of the Arkhangelsk Region and the Komi Republic, the Federal State Statistics Service of the Arkhangelsk Region and the Komi Republic, the Unified Interdepartmental Information and Statistical System. The results of the study and their discussion. Based on the analysis of the frequency of disability in the regions under consideration, a decrease in both the total number of disabled people and primary disability was revealed. In the distribution by gender, disabled women prevail over men. The largest group of disabled people are persons of retirement age. However, at the same time, in the dynamics of the study, their number gradually decreased, as did the middle-aged disabled. There was a negative trend of disability growth among young and children. Throughout the study period, disability group 3 was the most numerous, while disability group I was the smallest. Conclusion. Despite the fact that the number and level of disability in the Arkhangelsk region and the Komi Republic gradually decreased in 2018-2021, they exceeded the national average. High levels of disability in the studied territories of the European North require the search for their individual causes, and the improvement of the health system in these regions.

Prevalence and Determinants of Low Birth Weight in India: Findings From a Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Survey (2019-21).

Low birth weight (LBW) is an important public health indicator extensively linked to infant and child mortality, especially in lower-middle-income countries (LMICs). Globally, 15.5% of all infants are born with LBW while 95% of these occur in LMICs. This study aims to examine the prevalence and determinants of LBW in India. Data were obtained from the fifth National Family Health Survey (NFHS) round conducted during 2019-2021. The study sample included women aged 15-49 years who had a singleton pregnancy in the five years preceding the survey (N=175,240). A bivariate analysis was carried out and a logistic regression model was fitted to assess the maternal determinants affecting the birth weight among newborns. A total of 175,240 mothers were included in the present study. The proportion of newborns with LBW was 17.29% (n=26366, 95% confidence interval [CI] 17.01, 17.57), of which 6% (n=1450, 95% CI 5.61, 6.41) had very low birth weight (less than 1500 g). An increase in the education level of womenor wealth index also resulted in significantly reduced odds of LBW in the newborn. However, the number of antenatal care (ANC) visits lacked any statistically significant association with the odds of having a newborn with LBW. The burden of LBW in India in recent years has remained stable despite impressive economic growth and increased public health spending on food security and nutritional supplementation. Strengthening the quality of ANC services for pregnant women with a focus on sensitization and awareness generation for improving maternal nutrition requires high prioritization.

Estimating 10-year risk of lung and breast cancer by occupation in Switzerland.

Lung and breast cancer are important in the working-age population both in terms of incidence and costs. The study aims were to estimate the 10-year risk of lung and breast cancer by occupation and smoking status and to create easy to use age-, and sex-specific 10-year risk charts. New lung and breast cancer cases between 2010 and 2014 from all 5 cancer registries of Western Switzerland, matched with the Swiss National Cohort were used. The 10-year risks of lung and breast cancer by occupational category were estimated. For lung cancer, estimates were additionally stratified by smoking status using data on smoking prevalence from the 2007 Swiss Health Survey. The risks of lung and breast cancer increased with age and were the highest for current smokers. Men in elementary professions had a higher 10-year risk of developing lung cancer compared to men in intermediate and managerial professions. Women in intermediate professions had a higher 10-year risk of developing lung cancer compared to elementary and managerial professions. However, women in managerial professions had the highest risk of developing breast cancer. The 10-year risk of lung and breast cancer differs substantially between occupational categories. Smoking creates greater changes in 10-year risk than occupation for both sexes. The 10-year risk is interesting for both patients and professionals to inform choices related to cancer risk, such as screening and health behaviors. The risk charts can also be used as public health indicators and to inform policies to protect workers.

The State of Public Health in Constituent Entities of the Russian Federation in Times of a Large-Scale Epidemiological Challenge: The Example of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: In 2020–2022, Russia, like the rest of the world, faced the COVID-19 pandemic. The necessity to overcome its challenges has led to the expansion of powers of the regions. To improve public policy, it is expedient to evaluate the effectiveness of measures taken by the regions for public health preservation. Such an evaluation is proposed to be carried out using the public health index, which requires the development of appropriate methodological approaches. Objective: To develop and test a methodological approach to analyzing the effectiveness of public policy measures in terms of preserving public health. Materials and methods: This work continues a series of studies on establishing the public health index in the Russian Federation, which has already developed an approach to calculating this indicator in view of medical and social resources of the population. The approach is based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization standard "The Urban Health Index". The evaluation of the effectiveness of public policy measures involves the implementation of several stages for calculating the public health index and the classification of Russian regions depending on the degree of its change for 2019-2022. When performing calculations, correlation analysis is used to identify indicators that do not contradict each other. Through the normalization of indicators, as well as the calculation of average geometric values, the calculation of the public health index is carried out. The data for calculating the public health index are taken from the website of Rosstat and the Ministry of Health of Russia. Results: We established deterioration of public health indicators in most regions. We believe that this finding is primarily related to the COVID-19 pandemic as a large–scale challenge. In 2022, the public health index for the Russian Federation has decreased by 13.15 % compared with 2019. The largest decline has been observed in the Saratov Region (69.14 %). At the same time, an increase in the public health index has been registered in several regions, e.g. by 6 % over the study period in the Tyumen Region. Conclusion: The analysis of the components of the public health index makes it possible to ascertain the cause of public health worsening in the region and to assess its determinants. Having classified the regions, it is important to identify the determinants of public health that can be influenced through public policy instruments.