National Institutes of Health and Health Services

Health and Health Services of National Institute  

National Institutes of Health,NIH Institutes, Centers, and Divisions,National Institute of Dental Research,National Center for Research Resources (NCRR),The NIH Mission, Goals, and Research Support,The goals of the agency are as follows,NIH Impact on the Health of the Nation.

National Institutes of Health

    Begun as the one-room Laboratory of Hygiene in 1887, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) today is one of the world's foremost biomedical research centers. 

    Although the institution's roots extend back over a century, the "modern" NIH dates from the years following World War II, when growing awareness of public health needs converged with new scientific capabilities and an increased national investment in health-related science.

     As the federal focal point for health research, the NIH is one of eight health agencies of the Public Health Service, which, in turn, is part of the US Department of Health and Human Services. 

    The NIH is composed of 24 separate institutes, centers, and divisions, each focused on a particular aspect of health research. The NIH has 75 buildings on more than 300 acres in Bethesda, Maryland. From about $300 in 1887, the NIH budget has grown to nearly $28 billion as of 2005.

    Since its inception the NIH has had 14 directors. The first was Joseph James Kinyoun, who was the founder and director of the Laboratory of Hygiene that later grew to become the NIH. The current director is Elias Z. Zernouni, a well respected leader in radiology and medicine.

NIH Institutes, Centers, and Divisions

• National Cancer Institute (NCI) National Eye Institute (NEI) National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
• National Institute on Aging (NIA)
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
• National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

National Institute of Dental Research

• (NIDR) National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
• National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
• National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) National Library of Medicine (NLM)

National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)

• John E. Fogarty International Center (FIC) Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center (CC)
• Division of Computer Research and Technology (DCRT) Division of Research Grants (DRG)
• The NIH website at http://www.nih.gov contains links to each of the above organization's websites, which contain information on their missions and activities in support of research (Office of Communications, 1996).

The NIH Mission, Goals, and Research Support

    The NIH is the steward of biomedical and behavior research for the nation. Its mission is science in pursuit of fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to extend healthy life and reduce the hardens of illness and disability. 

    The NIH works towards that mission by conducting clinical and basic research in its own laboratories, supporting research institutions throughout the country and abroad, helping in the training of research investigators, and fostering communication of information on health improvement.

 The goals of the agency are as follows: 

(a) to foster fundamental creative discoveries, innovative research strategies, and their applications as a basis to advance significantly the nation's capacity to protect and improve health.

(b) to develop, maintain, and renew scientific human and physical resources that will assure the nation's capability to prevent disease.

(c) to expand the knowledge has in biomedical and associated sciences in order to enhance the nation's economic well-being and ensure a continued high return on the public investment in research.

(d) to exemplify and promote the highest level of scientific integrity, public accountability, and social responsibility in the conduct of science.

    In realizing these goals, the NIH provides leadership and direction to programs designed to improve the health of the nation by conducting and supporting research in the causes, diagnosis, prevention, and cure of human diseases; in the processes of human growth and development; in the biological effects of environmental contaminants; and in the understanding of mental, addictive, and physical disorders. 

    The NIH also directs programs for the collection, dissemination, and exchange of information in medicine, nursing, and health, including the development and support of medical libraries and the training of medical librarians and other health information specialists (National Institutes of Health, 1996) .

NIH Impact on the Health of the Nation

NIH research played a major role in making possible the following achievements of the past few decades.

1. Mortality from heart disease, the number 1 killer in the United States, dropped by 41% between 1971 and 1991.

2. Death rates from strokes decreased by 59% during the same period.

3. Improved treatments and detection methods increased the relative 5-year survival rate for people with cancer to 52%. At present, the survival gains over the rate that existed in the 1960s represents more than 80,000 additional cancer survivors each year.

4. Paralysis from spinal cord injury is significantly reduced by rapid treatment with high doses of a steroid. Treatment given within the first 8 hours after injury increases recovery in severely injured patients who have lost sensation or mobility below the point of injury.

5. Long-term treatment with anti-clotting medicines cuts stroke risk by 80% from a common heart condition known as atrial fibrillation.

6. In schizophrenia, where suicide is always a potential danger, new medications have reduced troublesome symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations in 80% of patients.

 7. Chances for survival have increased for infants with respiratory distress syndrome, an immaturity of the lungs, because of development of a substance to prevent the lungs from collapsing. 

In general, life expectancy for a baby born today is almost three decades longer than one born at the beginning of the century. 

8. Those suffering from depression now look forward to returning to work and leisure activities, thanks to treatments that have given them an 80% chance to resume a full life in a matter of weeks.

9. Vaccines protect against infectious diseases that once killed and disabled millions of children and adults.

10. Dental sealants have proved 100% effective in protecting the chewing surfaces of children's molars and premolars, where most cavities occur.

11. Molecular genetics and genomics research has revolutionized biomedical science. In the 1980s and 1990s researchers performed the first trial of gene therapy in humans and were able to locate, identify, and describe the function of many of the genes in the human genome. 

    Scientists predict this new knowledge will lead to genetic tests to diagnose diseases such as colon, breast, and other cancers and to the eventual development of preventive drug treatments for individuals in families known to be at risk. 

    The ultimate goal is to develop screening tools and gene therapies for the general population, not only for cancer but for many other diseases.