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Lect 1. Introduction To Public Health

The document provides an introduction to public health, defining health, public health, and discussing who is responsible for population health. It explores the core functions of public health, including disease prevention, health promotion, and responding to disasters. The social justice philosophy underpinning public health aims to fairly distribute health resources and address disproportionate burdens faced by some groups.

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Yousef El banna
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29 views36 pages

Lect 1. Introduction To Public Health

The document provides an introduction to public health, defining health, public health, and discussing who is responsible for population health. It explores the core functions of public health, including disease prevention, health promotion, and responding to disasters. The social justice philosophy underpinning public health aims to fairly distribute health resources and address disproportionate burdens faced by some groups.

Uploaded by

Yousef El banna
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC

HEALTH

Dr. Dalia Wehedi


PHD, MPH, MD
THREE QUESTIONS

What is health ?
What is public health ?
Who is responsible for the health of individual & the
population?
WHAT IS HEALTH?

• Persons are healthy when they are doing their activities


with no apparent symptoms of disease.
• Health is a state of being well and free from disease
(oxford students dictionary, 1991)
WHAT IS HEALTH?

From professional points of view:


¢Health is defined as a measure of the state of the physical
bodily organs, and the ability of the body as a whole to
function.
¢It refers to freedom from medically defined diseases.
HEALTH

Health is like a mirage –


it is unattainable,
but worth pursuing!”
Dubos, 1959
THE CONCEPT OF HEALTH

• The concept of health depends on culture, values and lifestyles.


• The state of health is dynamic and can be viewed as on a continuum:

• The concept of health is personal and subjective and affects


everything a person does and how he feels about himself and
his environment
HEALTH MODEL
HEALTH DEFINITION

• A complete state of physical, mental and social wellbeing and


not merely the absence of disease (WHO, 1948)
Limitations of WHO definition:
1. The use of word “complete” makes achieving health an
impossibility of any person
2. State of wellbeing can’t be measured
3. Often require access to health care to achieve good level of
health
HEALTH DEFINITION

• A state of equilibrium of the person with the biological,


physical, and social environment, with the object of maximum
functional capability
• A relative state in which one is able to function well physically,
mentally, socially, and spiritually in order to express the full
range of one's unique potentialities within the environment in
which one is living.
• The ability to adapt (Lancet, 2009)
WHAT IS PUBLIC HEALTH

“ Is
the science and art of prolonging life and promoting health through
the organized efforts of society”

“Lewis in Holland et al, 1991”

“The process of mobilizing and engaging local, state, national and


international resources to assure the conditions in which people can be
healthy”
“The Oxford Textbook of Public Health”
WHAT IS PUBLIC HEALTH

• The science and practice of protecting and improving the


health of the community, as by preventive medicine, health
education, control of communicable diseases, application of
sanitary measures and monitoring of environmental hazards”

• The American Heritage Dictionary of Public Health


PUBLIC HEALTH

“ Publichealth is what we, as a society, do collectively to


assure the conditions in which people can be healthy”
Institute of Medicine Report (IOM). The Future of Public
Health

“Public Health is a science and art of saving the lives of


millions at once by single decision or intervention”
PUBLIC HEALTH

• “ Public Health is the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life,
and promoting health and efficiency through organized community effort
for the sanitation of the environment, the control of communicable
infections, the education of the individual in personal hygiene, the
organization of medical and nursing services for the early diagnosis and
preventive treatment of disease, and for the development of the social
machinery to insure everyone a standard of living adequate for the
maintenance of health, so organizing these benefits as to enable every
citizen to realize his birthright to health and longevity.”
• CEA Winslow 1920, former Chair of Department and Professor of Public
Health,Yale University
EARLY NAMES OF PUBLIC HEALTH

• Preventive medicine
• Social medicine
• Community medicine
• Community health

• Now they are dimensions of Public Health


THE MISSION OF PUBLIC HEALTH

“ Fulfilling society's interests in assuring


conditions in which people can be healthy”

“Detels & Breslow, 2002”


UNIQUE FEATURES OF
PUBLIC HEALTH
• BASED ON THE SOCIAL JUSTICE PHILOSPHY
• INHERENTLY POLITICAL IN NATURE
• DYNAMIC, EVER-CHANGING AGENDA
• CLOSELY LINKED WITH GOVERNMENT
• GROUNDED IN THE SCIENCES
• PREVENTION IS THE PRIMARY STRATEGY
• UNCOMMON CULTURE AND BOND

COMPARE TO MEDICAL CARE!!!


UNIQUE FEATURES OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Social Justice
Philosophy

Inherently Grounded in
Science
Political Nature
Expanding
Agenda

Link with Government


Uncommon
Focus on
Culture
Prevention
INTRODUCTION TO
PUBLIC HEALTH
What is Social Justice?
• Justice indicates fairness in the distribution of benefits
and burdens in society.
• Access to health services, or even good health itself is
considered a social benefit… and conversely, poor health
is considered a burden.
• There are significant factors within society that impede
the fair distribution of benefits and services (e.g. social
class, heredity, racism)
INTRODUCTION TO
PUBLIC HEALTH
What is Social Justice?
• Many modern public health problems
disproportionately affect some groups (Poor
Public Education Systems Poverty)…
• Collective actions are then necessary
• This means that those less affected take on greater
burdens while not directly benefiting from those
actions
INTRODUCTION TO
PUBLIC HEALTH
Uncommon Culture
• Public health is multidisciplinary-interdisciplinary
and utilizes a population-level focus.
• The link between people working in Public Health
is NOT a specific professional degree or work
setting…
• Public Health professionals are connected by the
intended outcomes of their work.. Promoting,
protecting, and preserving the public’s health.
PUBLIC HEALTH IS MANY THINGS

A system

A Profession

A Method

Government Service

The health of the public


CORE FUNCTIONS OF PUBLIC HEALTH
CORE ACTIVITIES OF PUBLIC HEALTH

1. Prevents epidemics and spread of diseases


2. Protects against environmental hazards
3. Responds to disasters and assists communities
in recovery
4. Prevents injuries
5. Promotes healthy behaviors
6. Assures the quality, accessibility and
accountability of health services
CORE ACTIVITIES OF PUBLIC HEALTH

7. Monitoring the health status of the population


8. Mobilizing community action
9. Reaching out to link high-risk and hard-to-reach people to
needed services
10. Researching to develop new insights and innovative
solutions
11. Leading the development of sound health policy and
planning
12. Humanitarian response
TEN GREAT PUBLIC HEALTH ACHIEVEMENTS

1. Vaccination
2. Motor-vehicle safety
3. Safer workplaces
4. Control of infectious diseases
5. Decline in deaths from coronary heart disease and stroke
6. Safer and healthier foods
7. Healthier mothers and babies
8. Family planning
9. Fluoridation of drinking water
10.Recognition of tobacco use as a health hazard,
PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEMS AND
DISEASES

1. Communicable diseases
2. Non communicable diseases
3. Environmental pollution
4. Maternal and child health problems
5. Malnutrition and micronutrient deficiency
6. Municipal and hospital waste
7. Geriatric health problems
8. Population problems

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