Public health
hidePublic health is "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." (1920, C.E.A. Winslow)[citation needed] It is concerned with threats to the overall health of a community based on population health analysis. The population in question can be as small as a handful of people or as large as all the inhabitants of several continents (for instance, in the case of a pandemic). Public health is typically divided into epidemiology, biostatistics and health services. Environmental, social, behavioral, and occupational health are also important subfields.
There are 2 distinct characteristics of public health:
1. It deals with preventive rather than curative aspects of health 2. It deals with population-level, rather than individual-level health issues
The focus of public health intervention is to prevent rather than treat a disease through surveillance of cases and the promotion of healthy behaviors. In addition to these activities, in many cases treating a disease may be vital to preventing it in others, such as during an outbreak of an infectious disease. Hand washing, vaccination programs and distribution of condoms are examples of public health measures.
The goal of public health is to improve lives through the prevention and treatment of disease. The United Nations' World Health Organization defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."
For more information about Public health, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with public health
Local health investigation sheds light on gastroschisis birth defect
Nov 06, 2009 |
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Results of an investigation conducted by University of Nevada, Reno researchers, public health officials and area physicians published this week in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, indicate that Washoe County ...
Poll: Many parents, high-priority adults who tried to get H1N1 vaccine unable to get it
Nov 06, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new national poll from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers found that a majority of adults who tried to get the H1N1 vaccine for themselves or their children have been unable ...
Cultural Beliefs About Pesticides Put Mexican Farmworkers at Risk
Nov 05, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Chemical pesticides are among the tools farmers often use in managing insects dedicated to dining on our nation’s harvest. Pesticides, unfortunately, are not without risk to those who labor in the fields ...
Physical education key to improving health in low-income adolescents
Nov 05, 2009 |
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School-based physical education plays a key role in curbing obesity and improving fitness among adolescents from low-income communities, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco ...
Study finds big air pollution impacts on local communities
Nov 04, 2009 |
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Heavy traffic corridors in the cities of Long Beach and Riverside are responsible for a significant proportion of preventable childhood asthma, and the true impact of air pollution and ship emissions on the disease has likely ...
The entwined destinies of mankind and leprosy bacteria
Nov 02, 2009 |
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Leprosy still affects hundreds of thousands of people today throughout the entire world. An international team headed by EPFL professor Stewart Cole has traced the history of the disease from ancient Egypt to today and in ...
Some who get vaccine not in high-risk groups
Oct 30, 2009 |
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(AP) -- It was bound to happen: Some people who aren't at high risk for swine flu complications got the much-in-demand vaccine.
Lack of insurance may have figured in nearly 17,000 childhood deaths, study shows
Oct 29, 2009 |
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Lack of health insurance might have led or contributed to nearly 17,000 deaths among hospitalized children in the United States in the span of less than two decades, according to research led by the Johns Hopkins Children's ...
AIDS experts say Russia needs new HIV strategy
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Oct 28, 2009 |
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(AP) -- AIDS experts urged Russian officials on Wednesday to scrap their abstinence-based strategy for curbing the spread of HIV, saying the country's fast-growing epidemic could be entering a dangerous new phase.
Current Soda Taxes Not High Enough to Curb Obesity, Study Finds
Oct 16, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Current state taxes and levies on soft drinks are slowing consumption and resulting in slimmer waistlines, but the effect is generally small in magnitude, newly published research by the Yale ...
News in red and blue: Messages about social factors and health can backfire
Oct 15, 2009 |
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Here's a health idea that Democrats and Republicans agree on: when given information on the genetic factors that cause diabetes, both parties equally supported public health policies to prevent the disease.
What makes a successful society? Social scientists find health care only one piece of the puzzle
Other Sciences / Social Sciences
Oct 15, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- New research argues that the health of the population and the success or failure of many public health initiatives hinge as much on cultural and social factors as they do on doctors, facilities, ...
Is the person next to you washing their hands with soap?
Oct 14, 2009 |
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People are more likely to wash their hands when they have been shamed into it, according to a study by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Vaccinating boys against human papillomavirus not cost-effective
Oct 09, 2009 |
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Persistent infection with high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted virus, is known to be a cause of cervical cancer. Current guidelines prioritize HPV vaccination of pre-adolescent girls, which ...
Tanked-up teens: Cheap alcohol strongly linked to harmful underage drinking in the UK
Oct 09, 2009 |
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Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Public Health studied the drinking habits of 9833 15-16 year olds in the North West of England, finding that excessively low cost alcohol products and illicit purchase are st ...
