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
Alarming trend -- antiviral therapy to treat hepatitis C is declining in the US
Nov 24, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Researchers from the University of Michigan determined that only 663,000 of the approximately 3.9 million Americans with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection received antiviral therapy between 2002 and 2007. Treatment rates ...
Children unaffected by smoking ban consequences
Nov 24, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
The smoking ban in Wales has not displaced secondhand smoke from public places into the home. A study of 3500 children from 75 primary schools in Wales, published in the open access journal BMC Public Health, found that t ...
Therapy 32 times more cost effective at increasing happiness than money
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Nov 20, 2009 |
2.8 / 5 (6) |
3
(PhysOrg.com) -- Research by the University of Warwick and the University of Manchester finds that psychological therapy could be 32 times more cost effective at making you happy than simply obtaining more money. The research ...
Study raises concerns about outdoor second-hand smoke
Nov 18, 2009 |
1.7 / 5 (6) |
21
Indoor smoking bans have forced smokers at bars and restaurants onto outdoor patios, but a new University of Georgia study in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that these outdoor smoking ...
Immediate, aggressive spending on HIV/AIDS could end epidemic
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Nov 18, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Money available to treat HIV/AIDS is sufficient to end the epidemic globally, but only if we act immediately to control the spread of the disease. That was the conclusion of a study just published in the open-access journal, ...
Could Widely Used Rapid Influenza Tests Pose A Dangerous Public Health Risk?
Nov 17, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Rapid influenza diagnostic tests used in doctors' offices, hospitals and medical laboratories to detect H1N1 are virtually useless and could pose a significant danger to public health, according to a Loyola ...
Increased obesity hindering success at reducing heart disease risk
Nov 17, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
The dramatic increase in overweight and obesity in adult Americans over the past 20 years has undermined public health success at reducing risk for heart disease, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's ...
Scientists put interactive flu tracking at public's fingertips
Nov 16, 2009 |
2 / 5 (4) |
1
New methods of studying avian influenza strains and visually mapping their movement around the world will help scientists more quickly learn the behavior of the pandemic H1N1 flu virus, Ohio State University ...
People entering their 60s may have more disabilities today than in prior generations
Nov 12, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (5) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- In a development that could have significant ramifications for the nation's health care system, Baby Boomers may well be entering their 60s suffering far more disabilities than their counterparts did in previous ...
Despite some benefit, drug ads can be harmful to your health
Nov 12, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
While the debate over prescription drug advertising persists, a new study released online in the American Journal of Public Health offers guidelines for improving drug ads in order to minimize potential harm and maximize ...
UN says hunger stunts some 200 million children
Nov 11, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(AP) -- Nearly 200 million children in poor countries have stunted growth because they don't get enough to eat, according to a new report published by UNICEF Wednesday before a three-day international summit on the problem ...
90 percent of Africans are not protected by smoke-free laws
Nov 11, 2009 |
not rated yet |
2
As African nations are poised to undergo the highest increase in the rate of tobacco use among developing countries, nearly 90 percent of people on the continent remain without meaningful protection from secondhand smoke, ...
Good food nation: Researchers think America's obesity epidemic can be reversed via 'foodsheds'
Nov 10, 2009 |
not rated yet |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- In the last three decades, childhood obesity in the United States has become a massive public-health problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control, between 1980 and 2006 the percentage ...
New study measures hookah use among Florida teens
Nov 10, 2009 |
not rated yet |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- Hookah pipe smoking has gained a foothold with Florida teens, according to a new University of Florida study, which shows 11 percent of high school students and 4 percent of middle school students have tried ...
Over 2,200 veterans died in 2008 due to lack of health insurance
Nov 10, 2009 |
5 / 5 (4) |
0
A research team at Harvard Medical School estimates 2,266 U.S. military veterans under the age of 65 died last year because they lacked health insurance and thus had reduced access to care. That figure is ...
