Sunday, August 26, 2012

What is Public Health?


MEDICINE
·         Primary concerns is an individual
·         Doctor-Patient relationship and ethics reolved around individual 
·         Emphasis on disease diagnosis, treatment, and care for the individual patient
·         Medical paradigm places predominant emphasis on medical care
·         Uniform system for certifying specialists beyond professional medical degree
·         Lines of specialization organized, for example, by: 

-organ system (ophthalmology, neurology, cardiology, etc)
-patient group (obstetrics, pediatrics, Internists)
-etiology and pathophysiology (infectious disease, oncology)
-technical skill (radiology, surgery)
·         Biological sciences central, stimulated by needs of patients; research moves between laboratory and bedside
·         Numerical sciences increasing in prominence, though still a relatively minor part of training
·         Social sciences tend to be an elective part of medical education and teaches to integrate recovered person to his/her family or community

PUBLIC HEALTH
·         Main focus is on populations and groups
·         Comprehensive, broad and holistic in nature and much more cost effective approach to deliver healthcare to people
·         Public and health department relationship, social and public responsibility
·         Emphasis on disease prevention and health promotion for the whole community
·         Public health paradigm employs a spectrum of interventions aimed at the environment, human behavior and lifestyle, and medical care; designing, implementation and evaluation of health programs 
·         Variable certification of specialists beyond professional public health degree
·         Lines of specialization organized, for example, by: 

- analytical method (epidemiology, biostatistics, toxicology)
- setting and population (occupational health, school health, global health)
-substantive health problem (environmental health, nutrition)
-management (Planning, monitoring and evaluation)
-enforcement and advocacy (Public health legislations and politics)
-communication (Behavior change communication, health informations)
·         Life sciences central, with a prime focus on major threats to the health of populations; research moves between laboratory and field
·         Population sciences and quantitative disciplines essential features of analysis and training
·         Social and public policy disciplines an integral part of public health education and health promotion
·         Focus is more on dealing with Social and psychological Determinants of health 
·         Integral component of human development and human rights
·         It is a science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promote health through organizing committee efforts handling all possible determinants of health of the people.

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