Public Health
Public health can be defined in various ways. One can indeed show it as "the study, firstly, the determinants of physical, psychosocial and sociocultural aspects of health of the population and other measures to improve the health of the population " .
We might also remember an old definition of Charles-Edward Winslow and published in the journal Science in 1920: "Public health is the science and art of preventing disease , prolonging life and promoting health and efficiency physical through the coordinated efforts of the community to clean the environment , control of infection in the population, education of the individual in principles of health personnel, organization of medical and nursing services for early diagnosis and preventive treatment of diseases, development of social arrangements that will ensure everyone a standard of living adequate for health maintenance, the ultimate object being to enable each individual to enjoy his birthright to health and longevity. " .
From this last definition, a committee of the WHO in 1952 stressed the importance to be attached to the individual and community health education, but it was mostly struck by the widening conceptions related to administration of public health, this development requires the integration into a single system for all branches of public health activities, prophylaxis or prevention , patient care and rehabilitation for convalescents . Since it is generally accepted that the organization of curative care also belongs to the core functions of Public Health .
Public health differs from the medicine on two fronts:
1. It focuses more on prevention than on cure;
2. It develops an approach to population, rather than looking to individual health problems of people.
Summary |
History
The history of public health has its roots in antiquity, since time immemorial man has tried to collectively protect against disease and premature death, and this, including the fight against various epidemics and attacks of the environment. The supply of drinking water , waste disposal and concern for the health belong to that ancient past .
In Europe, public health was first noted in charitable individuals or institutions and religious congregations. In the seventeenth century, states began to regulate, and following the cholera epidemic that hit London in 1848 , the United Kingdom created the first Ministry of Public Health. A few decades later, following the pandemic of Spanish flu of 1918 , the League of Nations decided in 1922 to create its Health Committee , forerunner of the WHO .
During the twentieth century, the environment has become increasingly important, which resulted in the development of toxicology and the landscape epidemiology.
"New" and "old" public health
The definitions presented above provide a vision that is at once public health complex and a multidisciplinary focus on the application. This vision is within the paradigm of "new public health". The science and practice of public health, which emphasizes the role of social systems, partnership and cross-sectoral multidisciplinary, direction of positive health, not just (as the "old public health") direction Biological where the emphasis is on prevention and control from a single profession. The new public health is based on a better understanding of how lifestyle and living conditions (including environmental and sociological factors) determine health. The importance of other sectors outside the health sector and the need to mobilize resources and political support are also highlighted. The problems are defined in a larger context, leading to concerns over environmental. As with everything labeled "new", this term was introduced to mark a renaissance of public health in contrast to a stereotypical tradition and evolution. The term may be obsolete soon (There is much talk today of health promotion , but this does not cover the whole field formerly occupied by the public health should add the prevention of accidents and diseases, and care).
Public Health contains 6 current areas including 3 classic. The 3 classic and current one hand:
- the health service
- the fight against diseases transmissible
- the concern of others: health administration.
On the other hand, the last 3 current areas:
- the epidemiology
- the sociology
- the health economy.
Definitions
Be found, particularly in the publications of the WHO , many definitions of terms specific to public health. In addition, a number of glossaries have been developed to assist readers unfamiliar. , , . At the initiative of the European Commission (DGV), a multilingual glossary of terms relating to public health and health promotion was developed and put online in 2003 .
References
- Report on the Public Health Institute of Quebec (1997)
- Public Health Agency of Canada http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ccph-cesp/glos-rz-fra.php
- C.-EA Winslow, The untilled fields of Public Health, Science, 9 January 1920: 23-33.
- Expert Committee on the Administration of Public Health, First Report, Technical Report Series, WHO, Geneva, September 1952. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/trs/WHO_TRS_55_fre.pdf
- WHO Western Pacific Regional Office, Core Functions of Public Health: The Role of Ministries of Health, 2002, http://www.wpro.who.int/NR/rdonlyres/DB219E67-DEED-4424-8F0C- 7C0A14C8014C/0/RC5310fr.pdf
- G. ROSEN A History of Public Health, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 1993
- Archives of the League of Nations, Records of the Health Organisation, http://www.who.int/archives/fonds_collections/bytitle/fonds_3/fr/index.html
- Hogarth J. Glossary of Public Health, PUBLIC HEALTH IN EUROPE. 4. Submitted by EJ Aujaleu. World Health Organization, Copenhagen, 1977. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/euro/publications/9290202238_% 28a-s% 29.pdf
- WHO Guide to Producing National Health Accounts: With Special Applications for Low-Income and Middle-Income Countries, WHO, Geneva, 2003
- WHO Glossary of Health Promotion, Geneva, WHO, 1999 WHO/HPR/HEP/98.1 http://www.who.int/hpr/NPH/docs/ho_glossary_fr.pdf
- http://asp.bdsp.ehesp.fr/Glossaire/
See also
Related articles
- Health crisis
- Preventive medicine , prevention
- Pest risk ,
- pandemic risk ,
- Environmental Health ,
- Food Safety
- Health Insurance
- Movements of patients
- Obesity
- Health Promotion
- Health Policy
- Scientific Institute of Public Health
- School of Public Health at the Free University of Brussels
- Graduate School of Public Health
Bibliography
- Dominique Lecourt (ed.), 2004: Dictionary of medical thought, Paris, Reed. PUF / Quadriga, 2004
- Emergency Preparedness and Public Health: Directory of the Portal pages of the risk-M Lesbats IUT Bordeaux 1 exp HSE
- Health: a policy of sustainable prevention , annual report IGAS, 2003
- How can public health?, Journal cosmopolitics , No. 14, March 2007 External Links
- Graduate School of Public Health - EHESP
- Databank Public Health - BDSP
- Information Resources in Public Health
- National Public Health Institute of Quebec - INSPQ
- French Society of Public Health - SFSP
- Federal Public Service (FPS) Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment - Belgium
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