Public Health
Definitions of public health
Public health is both an art as well as a science that relates to the prevention of diseases, health promotion as well as prolonging the life of people by the use of organized efforts in the community. It therefore involves a practice that is responsible for disease prevention coupled with promotion of health starting with small groups within the smaller societies and extending to the entire country. The important considerations of public health in this regard are sanitation, education in hygiene, timely diagnosis along with preventive treatment, controlling the contagious diseases as well as promotion of satisfactory standards of living (Wronka, 2008).
Public health main features
A number of features are associated with public health. One of the most important features relates to the provision of population-centered services. Public health is concerned with protection as well as promotion of health as well as healthy conditions among all members of the population. The services must also be equitable. Public health service must also be proactive. The policies must be formulated and the adopted practices must be sustainable and provided in a manner that is timely. This is coupled with rapid mobilization so that novel and emerging threats as well as vulnerabilities can be addressed (Hann & Stephen, 2010).
Public health initiatives must be health promoting. This is achieved through making sure that the strategies along with the policies that are responsible for advancement of save practices are executed by the health care providers and also the entire population leading to enhancement of probability of constructive outcomes of health behaviors. Transparency is another important feature associated with public where a high degree of openness is attributed to health services delivery.
Providing population-centered services and transparency are two vital features in public health that are associated with the greatest impact on improving health status and quality of life throughout history. All services under public health must be tailored to meet the needs of the population and conducting every step with transparency contributes significantly in efficient service delivery.
References
Hann, A. & Stephen, P., (2010). Public Health Ethics & Practice. Portland, OR: The Policy Press.
Wronka, J. M., (2008). Human Rights & Social Justice: Social Action &Service for the Helping & Health Professions.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
