INTRODUCTION OF PUBLIC HEALTH
PRELIMS_T1
PUBLIC HEALTH
The science and art of;
 preventing disease
 prolonging life
 promoting physical health and efficient
through:
a. organized community efforts and
informed choices of society,
b. private and public communities,
communities and individuals for the
sanitation of the environment,
c. control of community infections,
d. the education of the individual in
principles of personal hygiene,
e. the organization of medical and nursing
services for the early diagnosis and
preventive treatment of disease, and
f. the development of social machinery
which will ensure to every in the
community a standard of living adequate
for the maintenance of health. (Winslow,
1920)
It is concerned with threats to the overall health of a
community based on population health analysis.
Ecological in perspective, multisectoral in scope
and collaborative in strategy
It aims to improve the health of community through
an organized community effort.
PUBLIC HEALTH:
Health Promotion
Surveillance
Monitoring
Analysis
Outbreaks
Disease Promotion
Communication
Emergency Preparedness
Recovery
Environmental Health
Research
Health Promotion
DIVISIONS OF PUBLIC HEALTH:
1. Epidemiology
2. Biostatistics
3. Health Services/Health Policy
Management
4. Health Administration
5. Environmental Health
6. Occupational health
7. Social and Behavioral Health
8. Nutrition
CHARACTERISTICS OF PUBLIC HEALTH:
 It deals with the PREVENTIVE ASPECTS
of health rather than curative aspects.
 It deals with POPULATION LEVEL, rather
than individual health issues
3 CORE FUNCTIONS OF PUBLIC HEALTH/
10 ESSENTIAL PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES
1. ASSESSMENT
a. Monitor health status to identify
community health problems.
b. Diagnose and investigate health
problems and health hazards in the
community
2. POLICY DEVELOPMENT
a. Inform, educate and empower
people about health issues.
b. Mobilize community partnerships to
identify and solve health problems.
c. Develop policies and plans that
support individual and community
health efforts
3. ASSURANCE
a. Enforce laws and regulations that
protect health and ensure safety.
b. Link people to needed personal
health services and assure the
provision of health care when
otherwise unavailable.
c. Assure a competent public health
and personal healthcare workforce.
d. Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility,
and quality of personal and
population-based health services.
5 STEPS OF PUBLIC HEALTH APPROACH
IN ADDRESSING HEALTH PROBLEMS IN
COMMUNITY
1. Define the health problem.
2. Identify the risk factors associated with the
problem.
3. Develop and test community-level
interventions to control or prevent the cause
of the problem.
4. Implement interventions to improve the
health of the population.
5. Monitor those interventions to assess their
effectiveness.
LEVELS OF PREVENTION
1. Primary Prevention - prevents an illness or
an injury from occurring at all, by preventing
exposure to risk factors.
2. Secondary - seeks to minimize the severity
of the illness or the damage due to an
and
injury-causing event once the event has
occurred.
3. Tertiary - seeks to minimize disability by
providing medical care and rehabilitation
services.
PUBLIC HEALTH DEFINITION: MAJOR
CONCEPT
1. Health promotion and disease prevention.
2. People’s participation towards self-reliance:
active and full involvement with people in
the decision-making process :
 Assessment
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 Planning
 Implementation
 monitoring and evaluation
DR C.E WINSLOW:
The science and art of preventing disease,
prolonging life, promoting health and efficiency
through organized community effort:
 for the sanitation of the environment, control
of communicable diseases,
 the education of individuals in personal
hygiene, the organization of medical and
nursing services for the early diagnosis and
preventive treatment of disease and
 the development of social machinery to
ensure everyone a standard of living
adequate for the maintenance of health, so
organizing these benefits as to enable every
citizen to realize his birthright of health and
longevity(long life).
HANLON:
It is dedicated to the common attainment of the
highest level of physical, mental and social well-
being and longevity consistent with available
knowledge and resources at a given time and
place.
 It holds this goal as its contribution to the
most effective total development and life on
the individual and this society. (Holistic)
PURDOM:
It prioritizes the survival of human species, the
prevention of conditions which lead to the
destruction or retardation of human function and
potential in early years of life, the achievement of
human potential and prevention of the loss of
productivity of young adults and those in the middle
period of life and the improvement of the quality of
life especially in later years.
NIGHTINGALE:
The act of utilizing the environment of the patient to
assist him in his recovery.
 Any individual is capable of reparative
process.
HEALTH - person’s physical and psychological
capacity to establish and maintain balance.
Successful defense of the host against forces that
disturb body equilibrium.
ASPECTS OF HEALTH:
Physical health
 condition that enables person to maintain a
strong and health body.
Mental health
INTRODUCTION OF PUBLIC HEALTH
PRELIMS_T1
 refers to how a person feels, thinks of
himself, control his emotions and adjust to
the environment.
Social health
 refers to how a person feels, thinks and act
towards everybody around him. DISEASE -
failure of the body’s defense mechanism to
cope with forces tending to disturb body
equilibrium.
STAGES OF DISEASE
1. Pre-Disease stage
2. Latent stage (asymptomatic)
3. Symptomatic stage
RISK FACTORS FOR DISEASE:
1. Biologic and Behavioral Factors
2. Environmental Factors
3. Immunologic Factors
4. Nutritional Factors
5. Genetic Factors
6. Services, Social Factors and Spiritual
Factors
CHANGES IN THE HEALTH SCENARIO
1. Rapid decline in mortality and morbidity,
but health improvements were slowed down
during the late 1970’sto the mid 1980’s due
to severe economic contraction during the
period. Infant mortality declined and slowed
down but recovered modestly by late
1980’s.
2. Steady progress was made towards
control of infectious diseases through.
Introduction of chemotherapy such as MDT
introduced for leprosy Short course
chemotherapy for TB, Praziquantel for
Schistosomiasis. Adoption of rehydration for
management of diarrheal diseases.
3. The current status of service delivery
infrastructure indicated that preventive
and Promotive health programs had not
sufficiently covered the population. The
proportion of medically attended deaths
showed that 60% did not have reliable
access to medical care. There were still
pockets of rural and urban areas unserved
and underserved.
4. The 1980 PHC strategy focused on the
delivery of maternal and child care
services, control of prevalent diseases,
nutrition and family planning
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 INTRODUCTION OF PUBLIC HEALTH
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MAJOR FACTORS THAT INFLUENCED THE

PUBLIC HEALTH DEVELOPMENT
1. The role of international organizations:
WHO, UNICEF, United Nations Family
Planning Administration (UNFPA), US-
AID, World Bank, Rockefeller
Foundation, Japanese International
Cooperation Agency (JICA), Australian
Agency for International Development
(AUSAID) – they provide technical
assistance that facilitated technology
transfer, provide financial support for the
testing and implementation of innovative
approaches
2. The advances in bio-medical and bio-
engineering research. The introduction
of chemotherapy.
3. The increasing recognition that public health
could not be solely biomedically oriented but
psycho-socially based as well.
4. Increasing scientific approach to program
management.
FUTURE CHALLENGES
1. URBANIZATION – it has been forecast that
by the year 2020, the urban population
comprise 65 to 75% of the total population
The chaotic growth of cities will
result in a multitude of economic and
social problems.
The rise of slums, criminality,
disease and unemployment
Overcrowding, inadequate housing
facilities, poor environmental
sanitation.
2. INDUSTRIALIZATION – more women
joining the workforce. This may or may not
have adverse effect on the family. Care of
children will be entrusted to caretakers.
Occupational hazards become a
major concern Air, soil and water
pollutions.
3. ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN –
environmental degradation caused by
deforestation, deterioration of seas and
rivers due to industrial waste, indiscriminate
disposal of waste.
All these lead to ecological
imbalance and pave the way for the
emergence of the new types of
microorganisms.
4. THE REVENGE OF THE GERMS – the
discriminate consumption and overuse of
antibiotics have resulted in drug-resistant
bacteria, viruses and parasites.
Switching from inexpensive penicillin
to other drugs increased treatment
costs which are beyond the reach of
the poor
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