A Public Health Model is used to improve health and quality of life through prevention and treatment of disease, surveillance of cases, and the promotion of healthy behaviors. Promotion of hand washing and breastfeeding, delivery of vaccinations, and the distribution of condoms to control the spread of sexually transmitted infections are all examples of common public health measures derived from a public health model. Whether the complex crime of human trafficking is accepted and viewed as a public health issue or not, there are aspects of the public health model that fit well in this realm. A public health model, regardless of whether it is used by the Center for Disease Control or the Department of Health and Human Services, starts by asking the same basic questions about a possible public health threat:
Where does it come from? What conditions allow it to prosper? How is it transmitted? What is its life cycle? Can it be eradicated?