Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health At the time of the creation of the World Health Organization , in 1948, health was defined as being "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals." (1920, C.E.A. Winslow Winslow was born in Boston, Massachusetts and attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology , obtaining a B.S. in 1898 and an M.S. in 1910)[1] It is concerned with threats to the overall health of a community based on population health Population health has been defined as “the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group.” It is an approach to health that aims to improve the health of an entire population. One major step in achieving this aim is to reduce health inequities among population groups. Population health analysis. The population in question can be as small as a handful of people or as large as all the inhabitants of several continents (for instance, in the case of a pandemic A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance a continent, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic. Further, flu pandemics exclude seasonal flu, unless the flu of the season). Public health is typically divided into epidemiology Epidemiology is the study of factors affecting the health and illness of populations, and serves as the foundation and logic of interventions made in the interest of public health and preventative medicine. It is considered a cornerstone methodology of public health research, and is highly regarded in evidence-based medicine for identifying risk, biostatistics Biostatistics is the application of statistics to a wide range of topics in biology. The science of biostatistics encompasses the design of biological experiments, especially in medicine and agriculture; the collection, summarization, and analysis of data from those experiments; and the interpretation of, and inference from, the results and health services Before the term health care became popular, English-speakers referred to medicine or to the health sector and spoke of the treatment and prevention of illness and disease. The social and political issue of access to healthcare in the US has led to public debate and confusing use of terms such as "health care" , health insurance (. Environmental Environmental health is the branch of public health that is concerned with all aspects of the natural and built environment that may affect human health. Other terms that concern or refer to the discipline of environmental health include environmental public health and environmental health and protection, social, behavioral In psychology behavioral health, as a general concept, refers the reciprocal relationship between human behavior, individually or socially, and the well-being of the body, mind, and spirit, whether the later are considered individually or as an integrated whole. The term is more commonly used to describe a field of scientific study, academic, and occupational health Occupational health and safety is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. The goal of all occupational health and safety programs is to foster a safe work environment. As a secondary effect, it may also protect co-workers, family members, employers, customers, are also important subfields.
There are 2 distinct characteristics of public health:
1. It deals with preventive rather than curative aspects of health 2. It deals with population-level, rather than individual-level health issues
The focus of public health intervention is to prevent rather than treat a disease through surveillance Disease surveillance is an epidemiological practice by which the spread of disease is monitored in order to establish patterns of progression. The main role of disease surveillance is to predict, observe, and minimize the harm caused by outbreak, epidemic, and pandemic situations, as well as increase our knowledge as to what factors might of cases and the promotion of healthy behaviors. In addition to these activities, in many cases treating a disease may be vital to preventing it in others, such as during an outbreak of an infectious disease An infectious disease is a clinically evident illness resulting from the presence of pathogenic microbial agents, including pathogenic viruses, pathogenic bacteria, fungi, protozoa, multicellular parasites, and aberrant proteins known as prions. These pathogens are able to cause disease in animals and/or plants. Infectious pathologies are also. Hand washing Hand washing for hand hygiene is the act of cleansing the hands with or without the use of water or another liquid, or with the use of soap, for the purpose of removing soil, dirt, and/or microorganisms, vaccination Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material to produce immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by many pathogens. There is strong evidence for the efficacy of the influenza vaccine, the HPV vaccine and the chicken pox vaccine among others. Vaccination is generally considered to be the most programs and distribution of condoms are examples of public health measures.
The goal of public health is to improve lives through the prevention and treatment of disease. The United Nations' World Health Organization The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health Organization, which had been an agency of the defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."[2]
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Objectives
The focus of a public health intervention is to prevent rather than treat a disease through surveillance of cases and the promotion of healthy behaviors. In addition to these activities, in many cases treating a disease can be vital to preventing its spread to others, such as during an outbreak of infectious disease An infectious disease is a clinically evident illness resulting from the presence of pathogenic microbial agents, including pathogenic viruses, pathogenic bacteria, fungi, protozoa, multicellular parasites, and aberrant proteins known as prions. These pathogens are able to cause disease in animals and/or plants. Infectious pathologies are also or contamination of food or water supplies. Vaccination Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material to produce immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by many pathogens. There is strong evidence for the efficacy of the influenza vaccine, the HPV vaccine and the chicken pox vaccine among others. Vaccination is generally considered to be the most programs and distribution of condoms are examples of public health measures.
Most countries have their own government public health agencies, sometimes known as ministries of health, to respond to domestic health issues. In the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language, the front line of public health initiatives are state and local health departments A health department is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their own. Health departments perform food licensing and food inspection , vaccination programs, free STD and AIDS tests, and other. The United States Public Health Service The Public Health Service Act structured the United States Public Health Service as the primary division of the Department of Health Education and Welfare (HEW), which later became the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The PHS comprises all Agency Divisions of Health and Human Services and the Commissioned Corps. The Assistant (PHS), led by the Surgeon General of the United States, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services based in Atlanta, Georgia. It works to protect public health and safety by providing information to enhance health decisions, and it promotes health through partnerships with state health departments and other, headquartered in Atlanta Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia, are involved with several international health activities, in addition to their national duties.
There is a vast discrepancy in access to health care Health care or healthcare is the treatment and prevention of illness. Health care is delivered by professionals in medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy and allied health and public health initiatives between developed nations The term developed country is used to describe countries that have a high level of development according to some criteria. Which criteria, and which countries are classified as being developed, is a contentious issue and is surrounded by fierce debate. Economic criteria have tended to dominate discussions. One such criterion is income per capita; and developing nations Developing country is a term generally used to describe a nation with a low level of material well being. There is no single internationally-recognized definition of developed country, and the levels of development may vary widely within so-called developing countries, with some developing countries having high average standards of living. In the developing world, public health infrastructures are still forming. There may not be enough trained health workers or monetary resources to provide even a basic level of medical care and disease prevention. As a result, a large majority of disease and mortality in the developing world results from and contributes to extreme poverty. For example, many African governments spend less than USD$ The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. The U.S. dollar is normally abbreviated as the dollar sign, $, or as USD or US$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. It is divided into 100 cents10 per person per year on health care, while, in the United States, the federal government The federal government of the United States is the central government entity established by the United States Constitution, which shares sovereignty over the United States of America with the governments of the individual U.S. states. For official purposes in U.S. courts, the government is sued as the United States of America, and is referred to spent approximately USD$4,500 per capita in 2000.
Many diseases are preventable through simple, non-medical methods. For example, research has shown that the simple act of hand washing Hand washing for hand hygiene is the act of cleansing the hands with or without the use of water or another liquid, or with the use of soap, for the purpose of removing soil, dirt, and/or microorganisms can prevent many contagious diseases.[3]
Public health plays an important role in disease prevention efforts in both the developing world and in developed countries, through local health systems and through international non-governmental organizations A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted, non-governmental organization created by natural or legal persons with no participation or representation of any government. In the cases in which NGOs are funded totally or partially by governments, the NGO maintains its non-governmental status by excluding government representatives from.
The two major postgraduate professional degrees related to this field are the Master of Public Health The Master of Public Health and the Doctor of Public Health (Dr.PH.) are multi-disciplinary professional degrees awarded for studies in areas related to public health (MPH) or the (much rarer) Doctor of Public Health The Master of Public Health and the Doctor of Public Health (Dr.PH.) are multi-disciplinary professional degrees awarded for studies in areas related to public health (DrPH). Many public health researchers hold PhDs Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated to PhD, Ph.D. or D.Phil. in English-speaking countries and Dr. Phil. or similar in other countries, for the Latin philosophiae doctor, meaning "teacher in philosophy", is an advanced academic degree awarded by universities. In most English-speaking countries, the PhD is the highest degree one can earn in their fields of speciality, while some public health programs confer the equivalent Doctor of Science Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, such as the Argentina, UK, Ireland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Ukraine, Russia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and several Commonwealth countries, the Sc.D. is a 'higher degree instead.
History of public health
In some ways, public health is a modern concept, although it has roots in antiquity. From the beginnings of human civilization, it was recognized that polluted water Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. Its molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state, water vapor or steam and lack of proper waste disposal Waste management is the collection, transport, processing, recycling or disposal, and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics. Waste management is also carried out to recover resources from it. Waste spread communicable diseases (theory of miasma). Early religions Religion is the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or a set of beliefs concerning the origin and purpose of the universe. It is commonly regarded as consisting of a person’s relation to God or to gods or spirits. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories associated with their deity or deities, that are attempted to regulate behavior that specifically related to health, from types of food Food is any substance or materials eaten or drunk to provide nutritional support for the body or for pleasure. It usually consists of plant or animal origin, that contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals, and is ingested and assimilated by an organism to produce energy, stimulate growth, and eaten, to regulating certain indulgent behaviors, such as drinking alcohol In chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl functional group (-O or sexual relations. The establishment of governments A government is the organization, or agency through which a political unit exercises its authority, controls and administers public policy, and directs and controls the actions of its members or subjects placed responsibility on leaders Leadership has been described as the "process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task." Definitions more inclusive of followers have also emerged. Alan Keith stated that, "Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making to develop public health policies and programs in order to gain some understanding of the causes of disease A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal disfunctions, such as autoimmune diseases. Ecologically, disease is defined as and thus ensure social stability prosperity Wealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions or the control of such assets. The word wealth is derived from the old English wela, which is from an Indo-European word stem. An individual, community, region or country that possesses an abundance of such possessions or resources is known as wealthy, and maintain order.
The term "healthy city" used by today's public health advocates reflects this ongoing challenge to collective physical well-being that results from crowded conditions and urbanization.
Early public health interventions
Public health nursing made available through child welfare services in U.S. (c. 1930s)By Roman Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world times, it was well understood that proper diversion of human waste Waste management is the collection, transport, processing, recycling or disposal, and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics. Waste management is also carried out to recover resources from it. Waste was a necessary tenet of public health in urban areas. The Chinese Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers both along the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era. Also, the Yellow River is to be said as the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. The written history of China can be found as early as the Shang Dynasty . Oracle Bones with ancient Chinese writing from the Shang developed the practice of variolation Inoculation is the placement of something that will grow or reproduce, and is most commonly used in respect of the introduction of a serum, vaccine, or antigenic substance into the body of a human or animal, especially to produce or boost immunity to a specific disease. It can also be used to refer to the communication of a disease to a living following a smallpox Smallpox is an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning spotted, or varus, meaning "pimple". The term "smallpox" was first used in Europe epidemic around 1000 BC. An individual without the disease could gain some measure of immunity against it by inhaling the dried crusts that formed around lesions of infected individuals. Also, children were protected by inoculating Inoculation is the placement of something that will grow or reproduce, and is most commonly used in respect of the introduction of a serum, vaccine, or antigenic substance into the body of a human or animal, especially to produce or boost immunity to a specific disease. It can also be used to refer to the communication of a disease to a living a scratch on their forearms with the pus from a lesion. This practice was not documented in the West until the early-1700s, and was used on a very limited basis. The practice of vaccination Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material to produce immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by many pathogens. There is strong evidence for the efficacy of the influenza vaccine, the HPV vaccine and the chicken pox vaccine among others. Vaccination is generally considered to be the most did not become prevalent until the 1820s, following the work of Edward Jenner Edward Anthony Jenner was an English scientist who studied his natural surroundings in Berkeley, Gloucestershire. Jenner is widely credited as the pioneer of smallpox vaccine, and is sometimes referred to as the 'Father of Immunology'. Jenner's discovery 'has saved more lives than the work of any other man' to treat smallpox.
During the 14th century Black Death in Europe, it was believed that removing bodies of the dead would further prevent the spread of the bacterial infection. This did little to stem the plague, however, which was most likely spread by rodent-borne fleas. Burning parts of cities resulted in much greater benefit, since it destroyed the rodent infestations. The development of quarantine in the medieval period helped mitigate the effects of other infectious diseases. However, according to Michel Foucault, the plague model of governmentality was later controverted by the cholera model. A Cholera pandemic devastated Europe between 1829 and 1851, and was first fought by the use of what Foucault called "social medicine", which focused on flux, circulation of air, location of cemeteries, etc. All those concerns, born of the miasma theory of disease, were mixed with urbanistic concerns for the management of populations, which Foucault designated as the concept of "biopower". The German conceptualized this in the Polizeiwissenschaft ("Science of police").
The science of epidemiology was founded by John Snow's identification of a polluted public water well as the source of an 1854 cholera outbreak in London. Dr. Snow believed in the germ theory of disease as opposed to the prevailing miasma theory. Although miasma theory correctly teaches that disease is a result of poor sanitation, it was based upon the prevailing theory of spontaneous generation. Germ theory developed slowly: despite Anton van Leeuwenhoek's observations of Microorganisms, (which are now known to cause many of the most common infectious diseases) in the year 1680, the modern era of public health did not begin until the 1880s, with Louis Pasteur's germ theory and production of artificial vaccines.
Other public health interventions include latrinization, the building of sewers, the regular collection of garbage followed by incineration or disposal in a landfill, providing clean water and draining standing water to prevent the breeding of mosquitos. This contribution was made by Edwin Chadwick in 1843 who published a report on the sanitation of the working class population in Great Britain at the time. So began the inception of the modern public health. The industrial revolution had initially caused the spread of disease through large conurbations around workhouses and factories. These settlements were cramped and primitive and there was no organised sanitation. Disease was innevitable and its incubation in these areas was encouraged by the poor lifestyle of the inhabitants....
Modern public health
As the prevalence of infectious diseases in the developed world decreased through the 20th century, public health began to put more focus on chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease. An emphasis on physical exercise was reintroduced.[citation needed]
In America, public health worker Dr. Sara Josephine Baker lowered the infant mortality rate using preventative methods. She established many programs to help the poor in New York City keep their infants healthy. Dr. Baker led teams of nurses into the crowded neighborhoods of Hell's Kitchen and taught mothers how to dress, feed, and bathe their babies. After World War I many states and countries followed her example in order to lower infant mortality rates.[citation needed]
During the 20th century, the dramatic increase in average life span is widely credited to public health achievements, such as vaccination programs and control of infectious diseases, effective safety policies such as motor-vehicle and occupational safety, improved family planning, chlorination of drinking water, smoke-free measures, and programs designed to decrease chronic disease.
Meanwhile, the developing world remained plagued by largely preventable infectious diseases, exacerbated by malnutrition and poverty. Front-page headlines continue to present society with public health issues on a daily basis: emerging infectious diseases such as SARS, making its way from China (see Public health in China) to Canada and the United States; prescription drug benefits under public programs such as Medicare; the increase of HIV-AIDS among young heterosexual women and its spread in South Africa; the increase of childhood obesity and the concomitant increase in type II diabetes among children; the impact of adolescent pregnancy; and the ongoing social, economic and health disasters related to the 2004 Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.[citation needed] These are all ongoing public health challenges.
Since the 1980s, the growing field of population health has broadened the focus of public health from individual behaviors and risk factors to population-level issues such as inequality, poverty, and education. Modern public health is often concerned with addressing determinants of health across a population, rather than advocating for individual behaviour change. There is a recognition that our health is affected by many factors including where we live, genetics, our income, our educational status and our social relationships - these are known as "social determinants of health." A social gradient in health runs through society, with those that are poorest generally suffering the worst health. However even those in the middle classes will generally have worse health outcomes than those of a higher social stratum.[4] The new public health seeks to address these health inequalities by advocating for population-based policies that improve health in an equitable manner.
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San Francisco Chronicle The admission came in an interview, as a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health was answering questions about two new episodes in the past week. ... Afghan schoolgirls sickened by poison gas UPI.com More Afghan Girls Poisoned For Going To School Care2.com (blog)
Wed, 24 Sep 2008 07:42:22 PDT
A compliation of focus group resonses to public health marketing questions.. youtube.com.
NEJM
Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:00:00 GM
As a result of these changes, the involvement of the central government can be reduced, with a 30% cut in staffing level, allowing the Department of Health to refocus its attention on . public health. , led by a new . Public Health. Service ...
