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What is public health? 


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Public health is a multidisciplinary field focused on protecting, promoting, and improving the health of entire populations through collective actions and societal efforts. It involves preventing diseases, prolonging life, and enhancing overall well-being. Public health encompasses a wide range of activities, including disease prevention, health promotion, and addressing broader health determinants. The field has evolved over time to address modern challenges such as chronic diseases, urbanization, climate change, and economic crises. Public health professionals come from diverse backgrounds, including medical, non-medical, and governmental sectors, working together to safeguard public health. Overall, public health plays a crucial role in ensuring the welfare of all citizens by creating conditions for people to maintain and enhance their health while preventing health issues.

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Public health is a science and practice aiming to preserve and improve population health, prevent diseases, and protect against health threats through multisectoral approaches and wider health determinants.
Open accessJournal ArticleDOI
Penka D. Gatseva, Mariana D. Argirova 
14 Citations
Public health is the science of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through organized efforts of society, organizations, and individuals, as defined by Winslow and WHO.
Public health is the collective effort to promote health and prevent disease at a societal level, emphasizing government responsibility for ensuring the well-being of its people.
Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 2004
7 Citations
Public health is the science and practice of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through societal efforts, focusing on the well-being of the entire population.
Book ChapterDOI
11 Feb 2022
Public health encompasses collective actions to maintain and improve overall population health by preventing disease and addressing health needs through interdisciplinary efforts beyond traditional medical practitioners.

Related Questions

What is public health project management?5 answersPublic health project management involves systematically overseeing and evaluating public health projects using comprehensive success criteria and factors specific to the field. It includes utilizing project management tools like stakeholder management, team management, risk management, and result management to control and impact public health effectively. Challenges in managing public health projects include inefficient bureaucratic structures, lack of realistic planning, weak working environments, political interference, and inadequate knowledge acquisition. Establishing a Project Management Office (PMO) can help manage multiple projects simultaneously, ensuring success by focusing on scope, time, cost, quality, and risk management. Enhancing public health project management is crucial due to the unique attributes and uncertainties associated with public health problems, especially after events like SARS, emphasizing the urgency and seriousness of public health work.
Why public health is important?4 answersPublic health is important because it focuses on maintaining and improving the health of the population as a whole. It involves a wide range of interventions aimed at promoting health and preventing disease. Public health efforts include implementing educational programs, recommending policies, administering services, and conducting research to prevent disease and improve quality of life. Public health also plays a crucial role in responding to disasters and emergencies, as it is a core function of emergency management and disaster risk reduction. By promoting healthy behaviors, surveillance of cases and health indicators, and ensuring healthcare equity and accessibility, public health aims to reduce disease, premature death, and disability in the population. Overall, public health is a multidisciplinary field that involves various professionals and approaches to address the health needs of the population and improve overall well-being.
What is Health?5 answersHealth is a complex and multidimensional concept that involves physical, mental, and social well-being, and goes beyond the absence of disease or infirmity. It is a state of complete harmony and wholeness, where individuals are functioning well and at peace with themselves and their surroundings. Health is valued and subjective, with different individuals and cultures determining what is to be valued in terms of health. The concept of health has evolved over time, with various definitions proposed based on different perspectives and contexts. It is a dynamic phase of life characterized by efficient homeostatic balance and the ability to recover from disturbances. Health is not only important for individuals but also for communities and societies, as there is a relationship between the health of individuals and the overall health of the society.
What is public health?5 answersPublic health is the collective and social effort to protect, promote, and restore the health of the entire population through prevention of disease and addressing the health needs of the community as a whole. It is a discipline that identifies, prevents, and reduces health problems in communities and populations, focusing on health promotion, disease prevention, and maintenance of health. Public health professionals aim to prevent disease, prolong life, and promote health through organized efforts of society. It is a field of health science that works alongside curative medicine, rehabilitation, and long-term care, with a focus on primary prevention. Public health encompasses a range of sciences and skills, including epidemiology, biostatistics, research methodology, and behavioral sciences, and emphasizes community-level influences on health. Overall, public health aims to improve the well-being of all members of society by anticipating and preventing future problems, identifying current problems, and implementing appropriate strategies to resolve them.
What is Health?3 answersHealth is a complex and multi-dimensional concept that involves physical, mental, and social well-being, and goes beyond the absence of disease or infirmity. It is a subjective experience and a value that is influenced by various factors such as biology, physiology, socio-economic well-being, and the environment. Different historical and cultural perspectives have shaped the understanding of health, from the equilibrium of humours to modern biomedical definitions. Health is not only a state of being but also a foundation for achievement and a precondition for further achievements. It is a holistic concept that encompasses individual, social, and environmental factors. While there is no universal definition of health, it is important to consider health on multiple levels and in a comprehensive manner.
What is public health policy?5 answersPublic health policy refers to the set of measures and actions implemented by governments and other stakeholders to promote and protect the health of the population. It involves the development and implementation of strategies aimed at preventing diseases, improving health outcomes, and addressing health inequalities. Public health policy focuses on collective action and the provision of health-related public goods, such as disease prevention and health promotion programs. It requires societal solidarity and cooperation to optimize health outcomes for all individuals. Public health policy also involves the identification of disease burdens and the analysis of effective strategies to address them. Financing public health is crucial for maximizing its benefits, and careful analysis of funding allocation and its impact on programming is necessary. Overall, public health policy plays a vital role in reducing the burden of disease and improving population health through prevention and intervention efforts.

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