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.
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News tagged with public health
Alarming trend -- antiviral therapy to treat hepatitis C is declining in the US
Nov 24, 2009 |
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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 |
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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 ...
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China reports 8 cases of mutated swine flu virus
Nov 25, 2009 |
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(AP) -- China has detected eight people infected with mutated forms of the swine flu virus, a health official said Wednesday, but flu drugs and vaccines still work against it.
Exposures to metals and diesel emissions in air linked to respiratory symptoms in children
Nov 23, 2009 |
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Exposure shortly after birth to ambient metals from residential heating oil combustion and particles from diesel emissions are associated with respiratory symptoms in young inner city children, according to a new study by ...
Medical 'pay for performance' programs help improve care -- but not always, study finds
Nov 23, 2009 |
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Like everybody, health care professionals enjoy a pay raise for a job well done. But in some instances, financial incentives for health care performance may actually backfire.
Evaluating eHealth: How to make evaluation more methodologically robust
Nov 24, 2009 |
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eHealth -- the organisation and delivery of health services and information using information technology (IT) systems—is playing an increasingly important role in shaping health care systems. This week PLoS Medicine publis ...
It's time for a 'third wave' of malaria activism to tackle drug shortages
Nov 24, 2009 |
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In this week's PLoS Medicine, the journal's editors call for concerted international action to address the crisis of malaria drug shortages across Africa.
Reduced skin infections in Northern Australian Aboriginal children
Nov 24, 2009 |
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A community-based program aimed at reducing the burden of skin disease across remote communities in Australia's Northern Territory has been successful according to a study published November 24 in the open-access journal ...
Flaxseed oil and osteoporosis
Nov 23, 2009 |
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Animal studies suggest that adding flaxseed oil to the diet could reduce the risk of osteoporosis in post-menopausal women and women with diabetes, according to a report to be published in the International Journal of Fo ...
Heavy drinkers exercise to burn off alcohol: British study
Nov 26, 2009 |
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More than a quarter of drinkers in England who exercise regularly do so in an attempt to make up for bingeing on alcohol, according to a survey published Thursday.
Diabetics show alarming increase in morbid obesity
Nov 23, 2009 |
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A Loyola University Health System study has found that one out of five Type 2 diabetics is morbidly obese -- approximately 100 pounds or more overweight.
UN: HIV outbreak peaked in 1996
Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS
Nov 24, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The number of people worldwide infected with the virus that causes AIDS - about 33 million - has remained virtually unchanged for the last two years, United Nations experts said Tuesday.
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