The public referred to in the term "public he alth" can be a handful of people, an entire village, or span across several continents, as is often the case with a pandemic. He alth in this case is physical, mental and social well-being. According to the WHO, it is not just the absence of disease or disease. Public he alth is an interdisciplinary science. For example, epidemiology, biostatistics and medical services belong to this field of knowledge.
Environmental, community, behavioral, mental, sexual and reproductive he alth, as well as he alth economics, public policy, occupational safety and gender issues in medicine are other important links in this interdisciplinary science.
Main goals
Public he alth aims to improve the quality of life through prevention and treatmentdiseases. This is done by monitoring he alth indicators as well as by encouraging a he althy lifestyle. General public he alth initiatives include promotion of breastfeeding, vaccine delivery, suicide prevention and condom distribution to combat sexually transmitted diseases.
Modern practice
Modern practice in this area requires, above all, the presence of interdisciplinary teams of workers and professionals in he alth-related professions. Such specialist teams may include epidemiologists, biostatisticians, medical assistants, nurses, midwives or microbiologists. Environmentalists or public he alth and he alth inspectors, bioethicists and even veterinarians, as well as gender and sexual (reproductive) he alth professionals, may join if circumstances warrant.
Problems
Access to he alth services and public he alth initiatives is a major challenge in developing countries. The main problem is the lack of sanitary and hygienic conditions for the life of the population. Public he alth infrastructures are just emerging in these countries.
The focus of this science is the prevention and management of disease, injury and other he alth conditions by observing incidents and encouraging he althy behavior. Manydisease can be prevented with simple, affordable methods. For example, research has shown that the simple act of washing hands with soap and water can prevent the spread of many infectious diseases. Treating a disease or controlling a pathogen can be vital to preventing its spread in a region. Public he alth organization, vaccination programs and condom distribution are examples of common preventive measures in this area. Measures like these contribute greatly to public he alth and life expectancy.
Public role
Public he alth, medical professionals, medical advancement are all interrelated things that play a very important role in disease prevention efforts in all countries through local he alth systems and non-governmental organizations. These issues in our time are considered not only at the local, but also at the international level. The World He alth Organization (WHO) is the international agency coordinating action on this issue at the global level. Most countries have their own government agencies, such as ministries of he alth, to deal with domestic problems in this area.
Ministries of He alth
The US He alth Service (PHS), led by the Surgeon General of the United States, and the Atlanta-headquartered Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in additionto his national duties participates in several international events. In Canada, the Public He alth Agency is the national authority responsible for promoting he althy lifestyles, emergency preparedness and response to infectious and chronic disease threats.
In India, a similar role is played by the Ministry of He alth and Family Welfare with related government agencies across the country. Every country in Europe, including Russia, also has public he alth ministries that oversee public he alth departments at universities. This is one of the main tasks of such ministries in any country. After all, it depends on a competent policy how prestigious the speci alty "public he alth" will be considered. Specialists working in this field are needed both by individual countries and the whole world.
Funding social programs
Most governments recognize the importance of programs to reduce morbidity, disability and the effects of aging, as well as physical and mental illness. However, public he alth usually receives significantly less government funding (when compared to medicine). Social programs that provide vaccination have made progress in promoting he alth, including the eradication of smallpox, a disease that has plagued mankind for millennia.
Fighting epidemics
Research in this area has led to the identification and prioritization of many of the problems facing the world today, including HIV/AIDS, diabetes, tuberculosis, waterborne diseases, zoonotic diseases and antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance, also known as drug resistance, was the main theme of World He alth Day 2011. While prioritizing urgent public he alth and he alth issues is important, Laurie Garrett (American journalist) argues that it (prioritization) can have mixed consequences. For example, when foreign aid is directed towards developing programs related to specific diseases, the importance of he alth care in general is ignored.
The problem of diabetes and obesity
Unfortunately, social programs are not always effective. For example, WHO reports that at least 220 million people worldwide have diabetes. The incidence is growing rapidly. The number of deaths from diabetes is projected to double by 2030. In a June 2010 editorial in the medical journal The Lancet, the authors pointed out that type 2 diabetes, a largely preventable disease, had reached epidemic levels, a humiliation for the entire medical world.
The risk of type 2 diabetes is closely linked to the growing problem of obesity. According to the latest WHO estimates as of June 2016, approximately 1.9 billion adults worldwide were overweight in 2014. Among childrenup to 5 years this figure was 41 million. The United States is the leading country in this regard, with 30.6% of Americans suffering from obesity. Mexico follows the US in second place with 24.2% of people who are obese and the United Kingdom at 23% (third in the world).
Once considered a problem in high-income countries, it is now growing in low-income countries, especially in urban areas. Many public he alth programs are increasingly focusing on the issue of obesity in order to address the underlying causes of the condition through the promotion of he althy lifestyles and exercise.
Other wellness campaigns
Some he alth promotion and prevention programs and initiatives can be controversial. One such example is programs aimed at preventing HIV transmission through campaigns to promote safer sex and the use of sterilized needles. Another example is the control of tobacco smoking. Changing smoking behavior requires long-term strategies, unlike infectious disease control, which usually takes a shorter period to show effects. Many countries have taken major initiatives to reduce smoking. They have introduced tax increases and smoking bans in some or all public places.
Proponents of this policy argue that smoking is one of the main causes of cancer. Therefore, governments have an obligation to reduce the death rate both bylimiting passive (secondary) smoking, and by providing fewer opportunities for this addiction. Opponents say it undermines personal freedom and personal responsibility. They worry that the state may end up eliminating even more civil liberties, citing concern for the lives of the population.
Communicable diseases have historically been the most important in public he alth, while non-communicable diseases and major behavioral risk factors have received less public and professional attention.
Evolution and progress
Many he alth problems are associated with maladaptive individual behavior. From the point of view of evolutionary psychology, the excessive consumption of new harmful substances is associated with the activation of an advanced distribution system for such substances as drugs, tobacco, alcohol, refined s alt, fat and carbohydrates. New technologies, such as modern transportation, cause a decrease in physical activity. Research has shown that behavior is more effectively modified by taking into account evolutionary motivations and not just he alth information.
Thus, increased use of soap and handwashing to prevent diarrhea is much more effectively promoted if it is directly related to the feeling of disgust at the thought of unwashed hands that is instilled in people from childhood. Aversion is an advanced system to avoid contact with substances that spread infectious diseases. Examples caninclude films that show how fecal matter contaminates food. The marketing industry has long been known for the use of a psychological technique that forces people to associate products with high status and attractiveness. The same technique can also be used to make people dislike something bad, like eating unwashed fruit.
Chairs of Public He alth and Public He alth exist in virtually every major university in every country in the world. This can also be considered a great achievement of progress, because the more specialists in this field, the he althier the population will be.
Conclusion
To improve the he alth of the population, one important strategy is to promote modern medicine and scientific neutrality. This will help stimulate he alth policy. Public he alth education policy cannot be limited to political or economic issues. Political concerns could force government officials to hide the real number of people affected by the disease ahead of upcoming elections. Therefore, scientific neutrality in public he alth and he alth education (both individual professionals and the population of entire countries) is crucial, as it can ensure that treatment needs are met, regardless of political and economic conditions.
