In public health practice, capacity refers to which of the following?

• A. The number of staff available.
• B. The total budget for programs.
• C. The ability to carry out the core functions of PBH.
• D. The capacity of health facilities to treat patients.

Answer: (C)

Capacity in public health practice means the ability of an organization to perform the essential public health functions—assessment, policy development, and assurance—consistently and effectively. It’s not just how many staff you have or how big the budget is; it’s the combination of a skilled workforce, solid data and information systems, strong leadership and governance, productive partnerships, and the infrastructure to plan, implement, and evaluate public health activities. So the best answer is the ability to carry out the core functions of public health. The other options reflect resources or clinical capacity rather than the organization’s overall capability to perform public health work.