Importance of Public Health

Public health is a vast area of medicine which is mainly concerned with improving the health of populations as opposed to just that of individuals. The first definition by Winslow in 1920 stated that public health is the science and art of preventing diseases and prolonging human life. It also does this through the promotion of physical health and organized community efforts that are useful in educating the public on issues pertaining sanitation, hygiene and organizing medical and nursing service for the diagnosed diseases. The public health has some various advantages. Initiatives related to this field of medicine affect people every day in every part of the world as it addresses broad issues that directly or indirectly affect the well-being of individuals, communities, families, populations or even societies both currently and in the coming years. Proper programs resulting from public health keep people alive (Baum, 2016) . They are responsible for increasing the people’s life expectancy reduction of infant and child mortality and eradication or reduction of communicable diseases. 

What is included in public health 

Public health includes various essential services that the professionals in this area are trained to perform. These include monitoring the health status of a community and identifying the problems or the potential problems and diagnosing as well as investigating issues associated with health. It also entails informing, educating, and empowering people about health problems and mobilizing community-wide partnerships that help in identifying as well as solving health issues. Doing all these, however, requires policies and plans that support an individual or the community and health efforts that are to be developed. This is also one of the aspects that are included in public health hence public health entails development of community policies. It also entails enforcement of laws and regulations which are responsible for ensuring safety and protecting health. Public health officials are required to investigate and research new insights and innovative solutions. 

Epidemiology of public health 

Epidemiology is a critical part of public health practice which aims at providing a basis on which a disease is prevented and the healthcare of the populations promoted through the study of occurrence and distribution of states of health and factors that determine such states. Epidemiology in public health is responsible for the application of epidemiologic methods to the practice of public health through analytical methods and application of these methods in problem-solving within the public health. The basic areas that professional epidemiology assessment of public health concentrates on include the trend analysis, public health surveillance as well as public health program impact assessment. 

Medical care versus public health 

Medical health and public health are two distinct aspects which have different dimensions which distinguish them. Medical care helps in diagnosing and treating health-related problems such as flu. The doctor makes a diagnosis and prescribes medications that help the sick feel better. On the other hand, public health is concerned with the prevention of diseases and promotion of health within the community or amongst a population. While the doctors’ primary job is to treat the sick, public health professionals are mainly concerned with preventing the population from potential health concerns. 

Funding of public health and public health agencies and their missions 

Public health agencies receive their funds from various areas. Most of the funds at their disposal are obtained from the government and donors who fund various activities altogether. Public health in many countries receives their funding from national health spending from the government. 

Reference

Baum, F. (2016). The new public health . Oxford University Press.