WHAT IS PUBLIC HEATLH?

Public Health
- Made a significant impact on the health of populations.
- Making people healthy and saving lives.
- Ex. The people of the US increased their life expectancy by over 30 years between 1900 and 1999,
with 25 years due to public health interventions

What is it?
- Health
- “A state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity” - WHO
- Public Health
- The science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the
organized effort of society.

How is it different from clinical medicine?

- Ex. A person had an accident
- Clinical medicine approach
- Focuses on the immediate issue of fixing the fractured leg.
- Focuses on the individual
- Public health approach
- A holistic approach
- Focuses on figuring out why and how the accident occurred to prevent another accident
- Health is determined by a complex interaction between different factors called the social
determinants of health.
- Individual characteristics
- Lifestyle and behavior
- Physical, social and economic environment
- Public health focuses on these upstream factors to make changes that can benefit the
whole population

Who does public health?

- Ultimately, the responsibility rests with all sectors of society with the health department having a
central role.
- Improving the health of the population requires the coordinated efforts of stakeholders such as other
areas of the government, private sectors, NGOs, international organizations and the communities with
the shared goal of improving the health of the public.

How is it done?
- The World Federation of Public Health Association developed a useful framework to understand how
public health is delivered.
- Three core areas of Public Health and their enablers to ensure effectivity and efficiency
- Protection
- Protecting the health of the population
- Includes the control of infectious diseases, managing environmental hazards, ensuring
healthy workplaces and managing health emergencies
 - Promotion
- Improving the health of the population
- Focuses on both the individual and the social determinants of health
- Prevention
- Preventing health issues before they occur.
- Includes vaccination and screening
- To enable these core areas to function, there needs to be:
- Good Governance
- Advocacy - to influence and obtain support and commitment for actions that support a health
goal
- Capacity - having an adequate, well-trained and supported public health workforce
- Information - Having accurate and timely information to support health actions such as relevant
research, surveillance, monitoring and evaluation.