|
| Office for Public Health Practice What is Public Health?  In 1920, C.E.A. Winslow developed an appropriate definition of Public Health: “The science and art of preventing disease and promoting health and efficiency through organized community effort.” Public health is about each one of us taking the responsibility for improving the health of the public, our community’s health. Doctors treat individual patients for a specific disease or injury. Public health professionals monitor and diagnose the health concerns of entire communities and promote healthy practices and behaviors to assure that populations stay healthy. Public health is a field comprised of many professional disciplines such as medicine, dentistry, nursing, optometry, nutrition, social work, environmental sciences, health education, health services administration, and the behavioral sciences. The year 1996 marked the 200th anniversary of Edward Lister’s discoveries which resulted in the global eradication of smallpox.
The Ten Essential Public Health Services:
*Adopted: Fall 1994, Source: Public Health Functions Steering Committee, Members (July 1995): American Public Health Association, Association of Schools of Public Health, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, Environmental Council of the States, National Association of County and City Health Officials, National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, Public Health Foundation, U.S. Public Health Service –Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, Health Resources and Services Administration, Indian Health Service, National Institutes of Health, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
|
|||
