Final answer:
Health departments use health records to monitor disease outbreaks, which is an activity related to public health and research, specifically for disease prevention and management.
Step-by-step explanation:
Health departments monitor outbreaks of diseases by using health records, which is a practice central to the field of public health. This type of use is B. Public health and research. Public health focuses on preventing and managing diseases and conditions impacting human health. Health agencies, such as the CDC, gather data on notifiable diseases through the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (NNDSS) and from reports submitted by physicians treating patients with such diseases. The information is crucial in guiding interventions, funding for research, and the development of health policies. The collected data also assists epidemiologists in tracking diseases and implementing strategies, like vaccinations, to control and prevent disease spread.