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In this course, you will explore practices that help meet goals related to achieving optimal health as an individual and for the public. You will learn more about how individual health practices as well as those health patterns in populations living in communities contribute to a better quality of life. A historical perspective on the field of public and community health will also be presented. Some key public health practices to achieve health goals include, but are not limited to, developing policies that affect the public’s health, conducting research to create the evidence to use in best practices, and responding to health crises such as disasters and emerging diseases, as well as exploring more about the public health professionals who work tirelessly to create healthier communities for all
Public health is both the science and art of preventing disease, promoting health to prolong life, and organizing health services for people, populations, and communities. In this course, you will explore the practices that help meet these goals, such as developing policies, conducting research, and responding to health crises. You will also explore more about the public health professionals who work tirelessly to create healthier communities for all.
Public health is a complex, dynamic field organized around five core disciplines: social and behavioral science, epidemiology, health policy and management, environmental health, and biostatistics. Within each of those disciplines exists a multifaceted array of public health practice areas, all centered around the community and an embedded core value of striving for health equity and cultural humility. The image below provides a representation of some of the major areas covered in public health and a sample of the major topics covered in this course. Each topic’s location within the circle is dynamic, and the areas of practice are interconnected. The location of each area can change as populations change based on evolving environments within public health.
Public health is the science of protecting and improving the health of people and populations and their communities wherever they live, work, or play. Public health work is achieved by promoting healthy lifestyles and primary prevention activities, conducting health research, and detecting and responding to infectious disease outbreaks. Strategies to improve population health include modifying health behaviors and improving environments, communicating and marketing health messages, and researching evidence-based interventions that improve health outcomes. Public health is a multidisciplinary field that encompasses and collaborates with other fields, including medicine, epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health, health services research, sociology, and medical anthropology, to name a few, and the professional training focuses on the social and behavioral sciences. Public health professionals try to prevent problems from happening or recurring by implementing health education programs, recommending policies, providing public health services, and conducting research.
The practice of medicine centers around diagnosing and treating individuals who are sick or injured to improve their health and life expectancy, if possible. The focus is primarily on medical care, emphasizing treatment to manage and cure diseases and health conditions. Clinical sciences are part of professional education and training. Some medical professionals work alongside public health professionals to promote activities and behaviors that prevent disease and, if an individual or the population becomes ill, to keep the illness from spreading or getting worse. (Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, n.d.). Medical practice involves direct interaction with patients, providing personalized care based on their specific health needs like performing surgeries, prescribing medications and providing routine check-ups and medical consultations. Public health has a population focus which aims to improve the health of entire populations or communities. It emphasizes preventing diseases and health issues before they occur through measures like vaccination programs, health education and policymaking.
Community health refers to health services provided by nonmedical and medical professionals outside clinics and hospitals. It is a discipline of study and a practice in public health. More specifically, community health focuses on the protection, maintenance, and improvement of the health status of population groups within a community. In this section, you will explore what a community is and what factors influence the health of the populations that live in communities.
A community can be defined as a collective body of individuals who share common characteristics like geography, interests, experiences, values, concerns, and language and are influenced by each other (Seabert et al., 2022, p. 5). Members of a community mutually support each other, have shared needs, and commit to helping each other meet those needs.
EXAMPLE
Some types of communities might be the members of a church or other faith-based organizations; Hispanic residents of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania; members of an online social network (the cyber community); the people of the city of New York; or the Asian community of Honolulu, Hawaii, the city with the largest Asian population in the United States (Korhonen, 2023).Community goes beyond simply geographical proximity. There are shared interests, cultural ties, and shared identity, including race, ethnicity, gender, and religious affiliation.
IN CONTEXT
Imagine that we are looking at the city of New York. This bustling metropolis is a community teeming with diverse cultures, languages, and experiences. Now, let’s say a public health professional is tasked with improving the overall health of this city. They would not just focus on treating individuals or tackling one specific disease. Instead, they would look at the bigger picture—the health of the entire city. They might study patterns in nutrition, exercise, mental health, and access to health care. They would consider factors like housing, education, and employment, understanding how these elements influence health. They would also work closely with local organizations, government bodies, and residents themselves, fostering a collaborative approach to meet the community’s health needs. This is the essence of community health—a comprehensive, inclusive, and proactive approach to improving health at the community level. Remember, every community is unique, and effective public health practice respects and celebrates this diversity.
Community health is a field of study and a practice within public health that focuses on researching, protecting, and improving health within a community. It does not focus on individual treatment or cures, nor does it focus on one specific disease in individuals. If a specific disease is affecting a community or population within a community, then the practice of community health would help address that health issue to benefit the entire community. Community health can be further defined as health services provided by nonmedical and medical professionals working outside clinics and hospitals. More specifically, community health focuses on the protection, promotion, maintenance, and improvement of the health status of population groups within a community.
Community health educators and professionals seek to improve the health of populations with nonclinical approaches to preventing disease while reducing health disparities. Health disparities occur in populations experiencing significant differences in health and medical conditions linked to social or economic disadvantage. Whole communities and populations are negatively impacted by health disparities, and these same groups already face significantly more obstacles to maintaining good health. Strategies used to address community health issues include evidence-based approaches to social, behavioral, environmental, economic, and medical determinants of health (various factors that influence a person's health) in community or population settings. A large part of public and community health involves reducing health disparities and promoting health care equity, quality, and accessibility.
There are many factors that influence personal (individual) health and community health. Later in this unit, you will learn more about the social and biological determinants of health that have a considerable impact on health. Personal health has many dimensions and encompasses a mind-and-body approach to maintaining good health. These dimensions include physical, mental, and social health, to name a few, and are interconnected where an impact in one dimension can often overlap with other dimensions—whether negative or positive. Much of the preventable disease and disability in the United States and around the world are related to individual health behaviors (Riegelman & Kirkwood, 2023, p. 91). These behaviors include tobacco use, unhealthy eating, high-risk activities that could lead to injury, sexual behavior, and drug abuse, and each can be traced to individual health behaviors.
There are internal factors like genetics that can play a significant role in personal health. Another internal factor would be lifestyle choices, such as smoking or lack of exercise, that lead to unhealthy outcomes. External factors that influence both personal and community health include nutrition and food security, social support, cultural factors, and socioeconomic factors related to education and employment. Family dynamics (an external social factor), for example, can affect mental and physical health both personally and in the community. Social support networks in the community can help families cope with stress and other challenges. Further, exposure to environmental hazards can foster negative health outcomes for personal and community health.
EXAMPLE
If a community is built near a city trash dump, the decomposing trash can emit methane gas into the air that residents of the community will then breathe. Children living in this community who suffer from asthma will be likely to experience a higher rate of asthma attacks and will have more difficulty breathing than children who live in communities with better air quality.Our health is shaped by the complex interplay of all these internal and external factors, from genetics to social and physical environments. Behavior changes, then, can be key to improving personal and community health outcomes.
The three core functions of public health that serve as the backbone of the 10 Essential Public Health Services include the following:
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REFERENCES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, September 18). 10 essential public health services. www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/publichealthservices/essentialhealthservices.html
Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. (n.d.). What is public health? www.hsph.harvard.edu/communications-guide/what-is-public-health/
Korhonen, V. (2023, June 2). Leading metropolitan areas with the highest percentage of Asian population in the U.S. in 2019. Statista. www.statista.com/statistics/432719/us-metropolitan-areas-with-the-highest-percentage-of-asian-population/
Riegelman, R. & Kirkwood, B. (2023). Social and behavioral sciences and public health. In Public health 101: Improving community health (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Seabert, D. M., McKenzie, J. F., & Pinger, R. R. (2022). Community and public health: Yesterday, today and tomorrow. In An introduction to community & public health (10th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
