These issues are critical and important and will impact the health of North Carolinians over the next decade. Therefore, this chapter will highlight these emerging issues and follow them over the decade. In each of the areas below, it is unclear what role public health and the healthcare system will play. Certainly, as science brings these issues into focus, public health and the healthcare community will work together to respond appropriately. The public health infrastructure must be ready to respond to these new emerging threats.
Coordinated strategy is necessary to understand, detect, control, and prevent infectious diseases.
Alternative Medicine Interest in alternative healthcare has been growing at a phenomenal rate. Each year, Americans spend millions of dollars for vitamins, food supplements, and alternative therapies to augment the traditional healthcare provided by doctors, clinics, and hospitals. The most common reasons is the increasing desire on the part of individuals to take a more active role in improving and maintaining their own health and well-being. The role of public health and the healthcare system in alternative healthcare has not been determined. At this time, very little research has been done on the benefits of these therapies.