Major frameworks for essential public health functions
| WHO EURO: Essential Public Health Operations | WHO PAHO: Essential Public Health Functions | WHO WPRO: Essential Public Health Functions | WHO EMRO: Essential Public Health Functions | US CDC: Essential Public Health Services | European Commission: Public Health Capacity Dimensions |
| First version: 1998 | First version: 2001 | First version: 2003 | First version: 2016 | First version: 1994 | First version: 2010 |
| Surveillance of population health and well-being | Monitoring, evaluation and analysis of health status | Health situation monitoring and analysis | Surveillance and monitoring of health determinants, risks, morbidity and mortality | Monitor health status to identify and solve community health problems | Leadership and governance |
| Monitoring and response to health hazards and emergencies | Surveillance, research, and control of the risks and threats to public health | Epidemiological surveillance/disease prevention and control | Preparedness and public health response to disease outbreaks, natural disasters and other emergencies | Diagnose and investigate health problems and health hazards in the community | Organisational structures |
| Health protection including environmental occupation, food safety and others | Health promotion | Development of policies and planning in public health | Health protection including management of environmental, food, toxicological and occupational safety | Inform, educate and empower people about health issues | Financial resources |
| Health promotion including action to address social determinants and health inequity | Social participation in health | Strategic management of health systems and services for population health gain | Health promotion and disease prevention through population and personalised interventions, including action to address social determinants and health inequity | Mobilise community partnerships and action to identify and solve health problems | Workforce |
| Disease prevention, including early detection of illness | Development of policies and institutional capacity for public health planning and management | Regulation and enforcement to protect public health | Effective health governance, public health legislation, financing and institutional structures (stewardship function) | Develop policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts | Partnerships |
| Assuring governance for health and well-being | Strengthening of public health regulation and enforcement capacity | Human resources development and planning in public health | Sufficient and competent workforce for effective public health delivery | Enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety | Knowledge development |
| Assuring a sufficient and competent public health workforce | Evaluation and promotion of equitable access to necessary health services | Health promotion, social participation and empowerment | Communication and social mobilisation for health | Link people to needed personal health services and assure the provision of healthcare when otherwise unavailable | |
| Assuring sustainable organisational structures and financing | Human resources development and training in public health | Ensuring the quality of personal and population-based health services | Public health research to inform and influence policy and practice | Assure competent public and personal healthcare workforce | |
| Advocacy communication and social mobilisation for health | Quality assurance in personal and population-based health services | Research, development and implementation of innovative public health solutions | Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-based health services | ||
| Advancing public health research to inform policy and practice | Research in public health | Research for new insights and innovative solutions to health problems |