Public health focuses on the science and clinical practice of human populace and efforts on preventing diseases and disabilities, and promoting physically and mentally well-being.1 Public health emphasizes on the multitude’s health rather than the individual’s.1 This field devotes to solve a variety of medical and social issues like environmental health, immunization and infectious diseases, etc.1 Epidemiology, the science of public health, studies the occurrence of disease in populations. When early epidemiologists devoted on preventing the expansion of epidemics, present epidemiologists observe and examine the populations to maintain them away from diseases.1 As the results of epidemiologists’ studies has influence on health policies, public …show more content…
Department of Health and Human Services provide many necessary public health …show more content…
As one of the career options mentioned previously, Global Public Health (GPH) is a specialty that focuses on global and international public health issues.2 Its purpose is to recognize the worldwide health problems, bring promising solutions for those problems.2 This field covers a wide range of topics which includes concerns at the local, state, national, and international level.2 Their responsibility stretches to broad topics like women’s health, infectious diseases, nutrition, water supplies, refugee health, and much more.2 GPH deals with women’s health issues as many suffer mostly with their globally low social status with a consequence of a reduced health care including contraception, family planning, pregnancy, and childbirth.2 Infectious diseases such as malaria, HIV and cholera concern GPH because they are still significant causes of human deaths especially in developing countries that have less chance of protecting themselves before getting
Global Health Initiative (GHI) is an approach to the U.S. global health policy that seeks to strengthen, streamline, and increase the efficiency of existing U.S. global health programs(GHI 2011). There are seven guiding principles of the GHI: (1) Focusing on women, girls and gender equality; (2) Sustainable country-owned programs; (3) Health systems strengthening; (4) Promoting global health partnership; (5) Integration; (6) Research and innovation; and (7) Improve metrics, monitoring and evaluation(GHI 2011)
Public health is a practice that focuses on the promotion of physical, mental, and social health and well-being and on the prevention of disease and disability among groups of people. It differs from the practice of medicine because it focuses on prevention rather than cures and addresses the needs of people as a whole rather than as individual persons. (Thivierge, Bethany, (2016).)
The relationship between medicine and public health has a complex aspect. They both are essential to keep communities safe from illnesses. However, medicine focuses on individuals who are ill and public health focuses on preventing illness. The two fields of study share epidemiology as a common source of knowledge to achieve their goals. The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson tells the story of John Snow, the man known as “the father of Epidemiology”. Donald McNeil JR. follows a modern day use of epidemiology as a basis for medicine and public health in his book Zika: The Emerging Epidemic. This essay details the role of epidemiology as a connector between prevention and treatment of an illness.
Public health expert, C.E.A. Winslow, defined public health as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals”. Just like many other words or subjects, the definition of public health can vary from person to person, or even from place to place. However, no matter what definition you stumble upon, they will all have something in common; helping individuals, communities, and the population as a whole. Public health has always been, and will always be, about helping people – and that is my passion, as well.
Right from my High school days I had a strong inclination to various programmes/ activities in health sector. My Interest in the subject has grown as it refers to "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals which is concerned with threats to health. I have come to terms with the fact that there is an enormous proportion of subject to be assimilated; to focus on public health intervention to improve health and quality of life through prevention and treatment of disease and other physical and mental health conditions. Therefore I want to take up a vital role in disease prevention efforts in both the developing world and in developed countries.
Studies had shown that, racial disparities, political and socioeconomic status are one of the most determinants of the use of preventive services. Whereas, public programs of international development agencies during this period were also targeting means of eradicating specific diseases such as malaria, cholera, yaws, smallpox, influenza, cancer and the like. After several years of investment in the vertical interventions, preventable diseases remained a major challenge. Therefore, the international health agencies including experts around the globe began examining other alternative approaches to health improvement which brought ‘’health for all’’ through World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to practioners and the global health planners at the International conference on primary health care in Alma Ata in Kazakhstan. Relative to this, the conference also intended to revolutionize and reform previous health
Public health may be defined as “a social and political concept aimed at the improving the quality of life among the whole population through health promotion, disease prevention and other forms of health intervention”.(1) The purpose of public health practice is to improve the health of society rather than individuals and reduce health disparities between individuals, groups, and communities through organized effort of the communities, individuals and organizations. As Marmot points out: “creating a fairer society is fundamental to improving the health of the population and ensuring a fairer distribution of good health”.(2) Besides this, the public health field is expanding to tackling new and contemporary risks: obesity, sexually transmitted
Everyday, the US citizen utilizes countless aspects of public health. From clean drinking water and sanitation, to adequate housing and a safe work environment, the list of public health services is virtually endless. Since public health is such a major part of everyday life, it is no surprise that the list of careers options in public health is also quite extensive. Infectious disease, maternal health, drug safety, nutrition, education and the military are just a few of the many fields of public health mentioned in Beth Seltzer’s book “101+ Careers in Public Health”. Today’s focus will be on infectious disease, specifically on the work of the epidemiologist.
I first considered a public health career when I interned at the Ghana Health Service Family Health Department as an undergraduate student. Participating in national meetings focused on strategies to reduce maternal mortality in Ghana, I recognized that, in order to create sustainable advances, it is crucial to address the underlying social inequalities that exacerbate adverse health outcomes. To advance this goal, I am seeking admission into the Global Health and Population Doctoral Program at the Harvard School of Public Health.
In some way, public health is seen as a modern philosophical and ideological perspective based on ‘equity’ and aimed to determine inequitable in society. It seen as a ‘science’ and ‘art’ in the sense that it deals with the cause of disease, treatment of illness as well as it involves laboratory experiments, intervention and promoting of health of the population. Winslow (1920, p. 23) defined public health as ‘the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting physical health and efficiency through organised community efforts for the sanitation of the environment, the control community infections, the education of the individual in principles of personal hygiene, the organisation of medical and nursing service for early diagnosis and preventive treatment of disease, and the development of social machinery which will ensure to every individual in the community a standard of living adequate for the maintenance of health. On the other hand, it is ‘the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through organised effort of society’ (Acheson, 1998; in Cowley S, 2002, p. 261).
Beitsch et al. (2006) also conveys the main functions of state public health institutions, which include the assessment of diseases, policy development, and the commitment to health protection and promotion activities. While Brumback and Malecki (1996) reveal that the role of public health agencies is to assess and analyse public health problems, form policies, layout development, and implement
Public health can be defined as the approach to medicine that is concerned with the health of the community as a whole. It is about protecting and improving the health of families and communities through promotion of healthy lifestyles, research for disease, injury prevention, detection, and control of infectious diseases. Many factors contribute to a long life, including demographics, socioeconomics, genetics, environment, and behaviors. It is important to assess these factors when attempting to increase life expectancy and improve health status, because positive health practices result in higher life expectancies and better health.
Public Health is the science of preventing disease and promoting health through many different ideas and functions by informing society and different community-based organizations. The idea behind Public Health is to protect and serve; it helps improve the lives of countless individuals through promoting a healthier lifestyle, education, research, prevention, detection, and response management. From the beginning, the idea of Public Health has become a stepping-stone that is essential to the longevity of humans and the environment. As society progresses and new advents are created or modified, Public Health
Epidemiology is the study of how frequently diseases rise in different groups of the public and why they happen, evidence gathered via epidemiologists is used to plan and gauge disease prevalence to help evaluate strategies to prevent illness (BMJ, 2017).
Taylor P., (2003), the lay contribution to public health in: Public health for the 21st century. Buckingham Open University Press, Buckingham, 2003, pp 128 – 144.