Session One

Introduction to Public Health

 SESSION OBJECTIVES
• At the end of this session the learner will be
able to:
– Define health and disease.
– Discuss evolution of public health.
– Explain public health science scopes and branch.
 Brian storming
• What is health?
• What is Disease?
• What is illness?
• What is sickness?
• Community?
• Public?
 Introduction
Definitions of some terms in public health
• Health
– Earlier definition: absence of disease
– (WHO, 1948): A state of complete social, physical
and mental well-being, and not merely the absence
of disease or deformity.
– Mahler (1981): WHO’s definition + ability to lead a
socially acceptable and economically productive life
 Introduction…
Definitions of some terms in public health…
• Disease:
– is a physiological/psychological dysfunction.
• Illness
– a subjective state of the person who feels not being well.
• Sickness
– Is state of social dysfunction
• Risk factor(s)
– Any factor associated with an increased or decreased
disease occurrence.
 Community
• Community is:
– A group of people who share something in
common, neighborhood, work place, race, religion,
or social activities.
– A small localized, political, economic and social
unit, who share values.
– Can you give an example?
– Villages, a groups of students
 Community health…
• Community Health is
A field within public health, that concerns itself
with the study and betterment of the health of
communities.
 Community health
• Community health:
Is a system of delivery of comprehensive
health care to the people by a health team to
improve the health of a community.
– It embraces the preventive and social medicine
along with curative and promotive health services.
 Community Diagnosis
Community diagnosis:
• Is the process of identification and detailed
description of the most important problems of
a given community.
• It may be broad or narrow in scope, and may
deal with only a single topic or a single sub
group.
 Community Diagnosis…
• Community diagnosis requires statistical knowledge in
addition to medical skills.
• Techniques and procedure in community diagnosis:
– Discussion with community leaders
– Attending community gatherings
– Survey of available health records
– Field survey
– Analysis of data collected and compilation of report in
order to reach at community diagnosis
 Community Diagnosis…
• Community diagnosis provides basis for
decision on:
– The need for intervention
– Type of intervention needed
– Target group at whom intervention should be
directed
– Provide baseline for later intervention
 Prioritizing Community Problems
• It is impossible to address all the identified
problems at the same time so,
– Magnitude (amount or frequency) of the problem
– Severity (to what extent is the problem disabling, fatal)
– Feasibility (availability of financial and material
resource, effective control method)
– Community concern (whether it is a felt problem of the
community)
– Government concern (policy support, political
commitment).
 Public

• Public – People in general.

 Public health
• Public health- Is the science and art of
preventing diseases, prolonging life and
promoting health by community efforts and
governments action.
 Public health…
• Use of public health:
– Preventing disease
– Prolonging life
– Improving quality of life
– Eliminating health inequalities
Ciribtirka sinnaan la'aanta caafimaadka

– Organizing community to promote active

participation
 Public health…
• Public Health is composed of other disciplines.
The core ones include:
– Epidemiology
– Biostatistics
– Behavior Science/Health Education
– Environmental Health
 Public health…
• Public Health is also concerned with:
– Global Health
– Nutrition
– Maternal and Child Health
– Public Health policy
– Public Health practices
 Public health…

Health care is vital to all of us some of the

time….
…but public health is vital to all of us all
the time.

C. Everett Koop
Have we meet our objectives ?
 SESSION OBJECTIVES
• At the end of this session the learner will be
able to:
– Define health and disease.
– Discuss evolution of public health.
– Explain public health science scopes and branch.