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explain the component of public health
essay about definition of public health
essay about definition of public health
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There is no doubt with the advances in technology that, as a population, we are continuing to live longer; yet with the cost of medical care constantly on the raise, is it any wonder an industry would develop out of the concept of “preventative” maintenance? We are after all, all too aware of this concept; from large corporations who strive to maintain their expensive equipment in an attempt to secure the bottom line, to the local neighbor who would rather afford the costs of preventative maintenance over the expense of replacing a broken down vehicle. To that effect, automobile manufacturers have even begun to include major necessary “preventative maintenance” items in their “owner’s manuals.” For instance, I have to replace my timing belt and water pump every 75k miles in my Nissan. Interestingly enough, while we were focused on maintaining everything else around us, somehow we forgot to consider our most valuable complex asset, our bodies. How is it that the maintenance of a human health and its performance somehow got left over looked and left to fall through the cracks?
The need for public health specialists…
Until till recent years the thought of humans not only living well in to their 80’s and 90’s, but living vibrant lives was concept that did not appear to go hand-n-hand. However, today the thought is not only real but, the concept and relevance of “quality of life,” both before and well into the twilight years, is more important than ever before thus making the demand for, and need, of educators and health advocacy even greater.
So, what is public health…?
The concept of public health is not a foreign one; it ultimately emerged from the practice of heroic medicine. Yet today it has evolved into something ...
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... us, knowingly or unknowingly, at greater risk that can and possibly will lead us to a dark place. If this trend is allowed to continue or, perhaps revelation through education suffices and people start making their health a priority, one thing is for sure, either way, the future of the public health professional is not only bright but it will only continue to get brighter.
Sources:
1. www.whatispublichealth.org/what/index.html; Title: What is Public Health
2. www.healthstate.mn.us/pathways/specialtyareas.html ; Title: Public Health Career Specialty Areas; Sub-Specialties of Public Health
3. www.whatispublichealth.org/faqs/index; Title: What is Public Health? – Frequently Asked Questions
4. www.pzfizerpublichealth.com/publichealthbooks.aspx
5. www.whatispublichealth.org/impact/achievement.html; Title: What is Public Health? – Impact of Public Health
Health, how it is defined and how it is maintained, is a reflection of the dominant ideology in a certain society. The medical system of Western countries, including Australia, is based on the biomedical model of health or biomedicine. According to Lord Nigel Crisp, who is a global health reform advocate, former Chief Executive of the National Health Service (NHS) in United Kingdom (UK) and previous Permanent Secretary of the UK Department of Health, Western scientific medicine and the health systems based on them have exhibited spectacular success in improving health over the last century and it has come to dominate medical thinking, habits and institutions globally. It also served as the guide for health regulating bodies including the World Health Organization, health care professional associations and pharmaceutical companies. He argued, however, that presently Western scientific medicine is no longer capable of solely managing the health demands of peoples in both the industrialised and developing countries. There is a need to adapt and absorb new ideas to be able to meet the demands of the twenty first century(Marble, 2010). In order to get a better understanding of the current health system in Western societies this paper attempts to take a closer look at the development of scientific medicine as the foundation of modern medical practice. In addition to the overview of biomedicine, a few of the challenges to its discourse will also be presented throughout the discussion.
Touhy, T.A., Freudenberger J.K., Ebersole, P., & Hess, P.A. (2012). Ebersole & Hess' toward healthy aging: human needs & nursing response. Toronto: Mosby Inc. Retrieved from http://evolve.elsevier.com/staticPages/i_index.html
...dressing only small part of a greater picture. Though not explicitly stated, a combination of vertical and horizontal programming should be the focus of future public health programs. That is, instead of focusing on only one disease, many health issues should be acknowledged and addressed but yet still given priority for resource allocation. Of course some public health issues are more important than others, but we, as future public health practitioners, cannot stop looking at smaller issues just because they are perceived as less important; all public health issues are important. When the health of communities suffers in any way, the future suffers, and we must be the ones to reduce as much suffering as possible.
Rogers, Kara, ed. Medicine and Healers Throught History. New York: Britannica, 2011. Print. Health and Disease in Society.
The main elements of the medical model of health are the search for objective, discernable signs of disease, its diagnosis and treatment (Biswas, 1993). Therefore, by adhering to this reductionist view, the human body is seen as a biochemical machine (Turner, 1995) and health merely as an absence of disease, a commodity to be bought and sold. The rise of hospitals with their goal of curing and controlling disease has led to the marginalisation of lay medicine, and a focus upon the individual rather than society as a cause of ill health. Health education and promotion with their focus upon 'victim blaming' and individualism have extended the remit of the medical profession from the hospital into the community. With medical imperialism the power of medicina has grown and medicine has all but replaced religion as an institution of social control. Illich (1976, p53) describes medicine as a: 'moral enterprise.....[which] gives content to good and evil..... like law and religion [it] defines what is normal, proper or desirable'.
There are several theories surrounding the aging adult and what successful aging embodies. A common theme of successful aging is one’s wellness. Wellness in relation to health is represented and encompassed by balance among one’s emotional, social, spiritual, physicality, and culture. As demographics begin to change in our country, new and changing definitions of what successful aging means among our society are developed through research and practice of caring for those within the population of older adults.
It is important that all health professionals have the correct skills and training. Green, (2010) highlights that learning for health is the most effective when the health professional identifies their own learning needs and goals. It is important that health professionals set realistic goals and objectives. All learning objectives will be different depending on the problem which is occurring in with the publics health. Assessing learning outcomes is effective within public health as it helps to measure the change which has occurred and if the goals set have been achieved. Improving individual’s education will have a massive effect when changing the health of others. Green, (2010) claims that there is evidence that individuals want health information but have difficulty understanding what the information means and are often reluctant to ask for advice or
Public health is a vast field that encompasses many issues. Generally speaking, it deals with the safety and protection of people in a society as well as education
Our arrogance leads us to believe that we know the most about health care but the ancient people, who lived in this country before us, knew more than we are willing to give them credit for. "Their medicine was combination of faith, blind luck and relying on the good earth -- relying on what was there" (Howard, 2000. P.2)
As American society has evolved in the past 100 years and technology has increased and improved, so has the life expectancy for individuals. Currently, females can expect to live for 81 years on average, while males can expect to live for 75 years, giving an average life expectancy of 78.3 years (Santrock, 2013, p.536). According to Santrock (2013), “since 1900, improvements in medicine, nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle have increased our life expectancy an average of 30 additional years,” but another important factor is the decreasing infant mortality, allowing a larger population of people, including older adults (p.536). Making good choices in diet, regular exercise, avoiding drugs and alcohol, along with getting enough sleep and maintaining a low and healthy stress level can all increase life expectancy. Relationships, emotional well-being, and having purpose all also play an important role in determining how long an individual will live. As people are living longer, more ...
According to Foucault and Illich (in Van Krieken et al. 2006: 351-352), doctors and the medical profession have traditionally been empowered by their knowledge as the authority that society defers to with regards to the definition of disease and health. With improvements in medical technology as well as the advent of the hospital, an evolution...
As part of the process of developing an effective preventive maintenance program, it is also needed to change the whole organization mind-set, about maintenance. There are several steps involved in the implementation of preventive main...
The theme for National Public Health Week 2015 is, ‘‘together we can create the healthiest nation in one generation.’’ National Public Health Week occurs in the first full week of April each year, and it is a time that us as students and health care workers should show our community what public health is really all about. Health care workers can show improvements in technology, current safety measures and major changes in the delivery of our health care system. Public health protects and promotes the health of the people and the communities where they live, learn, work and play (APHA, 2015).
Public health is one field that works alongside many other aspects of society. Public health cannot work alone. Instead, public health officials work together, as well as other individuals in society, in order to promote the general health and wellness of all individuals in the population or community. Thus, public health officials closely work alongside our government in order to achieve this general wellness, including at the federal, state, and local levels of government. At all of these levels of government, officials work in order to promote the general health of not only individuals suffering from poor health, but also individuals around the area and who are affected by those in poor health. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of public
Medical Anthropology is dedicated to the relationship between human behavior, social life, and health within an anthropological context. It provides a forum for inquiring into how knowledge, meaning, livelihood, power, and resource distribution are shaped and how, in turn, these observable facts go on to shape patterns of disease, experiences of health and illness, and the organization of treatments. It focuses on many different topics including the political ecology of disease, the interface of the micro- and macro-environments that affect health, the politics of responsibility as it relates to health, gender and health, the moral, political and interpersonal contexts of bodily suffering, and the social meanings of disease categories and ideals of health. Focal points also include the cultural and historical conditions that shape medical practices and policies, the social organization of clinical interactions, and the uses and effects of medical technologies.