I. Public Health

a. Definition

Public health can be defined in various ways. It can be defined « first of all, as the study of physical, psychosocial and socio-cultural determinants of the health of the population and secondly as actions for the improvement of the health of the population ». Then again, it is also defined as « an organized activity of society to promote, protect, enhance and, where necessary, restore the health of individuals, groups or the entire population ».

We can also recall a previous definition by Charles-Edward Winslow published in the Science Journal in 1920 : « public health is the science and the art of preventing diseases, prolonging life and promoting health and physical efficiency through the coordinated efforts of the community for environmental sanitation, control of infections among the population, individual education in terms of personal hygiene, organisation of medical and nursing services for early diagnosis and preventive treatment of diseases, development of social mechanisms that will ensure that everyone has adequate standard of living for the maintenance of health. The ultimate aim is to enable each individual to enjoy his/her birthright to health and longevity ».

Source:Saphir Development. Assistance in Public Health. [Online]. ( Accessed on 15/06/2012)

http://saphirdeveloppement.org/domaine-competences/assistance-sante-publique.html

Accordingly, the WHO, as a Working Committee in 1952, stressed the importance to be attached to the individual and collective health education, but it was constrained by the expansion of related concepts of public health administration, as this development required the integration into a single system for all branches of public health: prophylaxis or prevention, care for patients, and rehabilitation of convalescents.

Since then, it has been generally accepted that the organization of curative care is within the purview of the essential functions of Public Health.

However, it should be noted that public health differs from medicine mainly in two ways:

● It puts more emphasis on prevention rather than curative treatment;

It develops a population approach rather than individual interest concerning people's health problems.

	I. Public Health a. Definition Public health can be defined in various ways. It can be defined « first of all, as the study of physical, psychosocial and socio-cultural determinants of the health of the population and secondly as actions for the improvement of the health of the population ». Then again, it is also defined as « an organized activity of society to promote, protect, enhance and, where necessary, restore the health of individuals, groups or the entire population ». We can also recall a previous definition by Charles-Edward Winslow published in the Science Journal in 1920 : « public health is the science and the art of preventing diseases, prolonging life and promoting health and physical efficiency through the coordinated efforts of the community for environmental sanitation, control of infections among the population, individual education in terms of personal hygiene, organisation of medical and nursing services for early diagnosis and preventive treatment of diseases, development of social mechanisms that will ensure that everyone has adequate standard of living for the maintenance of health. The ultimate aim is to enable each individual to enjoy his/her birthright to health and longevity ». Source:Saphir Development. Assistance in Public Health. [Online]. ( Accessed on 15/06/2012) http://saphirdeveloppement.org/domaine-competences/assistance-sante-publique.html Accordingly, the WHO, as a Working Committee in 1952, stressed the importance to be attached to the individual and collective health education, but it was constrained by the expansion of related concepts of public health administration, as this development required the integration into a single system for all branches of public health: prophylaxis or prevention, care for patients, and rehabilitation of convalescents. Since then, it has been generally accepted that the organization of curative care is within the purview of the essential functions of Public Health. However, it should be noted that public health differs from medicine mainly in two ways: ● It puts more emphasis on prevention rather than curative treatment; It develops a population approach rather than individual interest concerning people's health problems.
<< Previous Next >>