December 20, 2002

What is Public Health?

Robin Chapell, Health Agent

The mission of public health is to assure conditions in which all people can be healthy through disease and injury prevention, health promotion, and protection for the most vulnerable members of our society. One of government's most basic responsibilities is to protect public health by ensuring that essential public health services are effectively delivered. These services include:

• Communicable disease control
• Laboratory services
• Health surveillance
• Risk communication (to the public and policy makers)
• Inspections of restaurants, pools, beaches, septic systems, housing, camps, etc.
• Environmental protection
• Quality assurance through licensure of health professions
• Immunizations
• Assuring occupational safety
• Health promotion
• Disease prevention (screening, education, diagnosis)
• Substance abuse prevention and treatment services (alcohol, tobacco, drugs)

Public health is different from medicine in many ways:

• Primary focus is on the population rather than the individual
• Emphasizes prevention rather than diagnosis and treatment for the individual
• Is science-based that employs a section of interventions deemed at the environment, human behavior, lifestyle and medical care where as medicine is science-based with predominant emphases on medical care.

Much of the important progress made by public health is invisible, like the important gains in sanitation or in purifying water and food. Once in a while, events such as the recent anthrax scare serve to remind the general public of its dependence on others for safety. Now in light of bioterroism threats, the Commonwealth recognizes the need to strengthen our public health infrastructure to help us conduct better disease surveillance, planning for these events, and to build our communications networks.

However, for those who are concerned with making this a healthier country, the importance of public health goes far beyond assuring safety. We need to address threats posed by tobacco, alcohol, obesity, physical inactivity and environmental toxins. Those of us in public health surely have our work cut out for us. When done right, public health saves lives, reduces illnesses, prevents costly medical expenses for society and the public and private health care systems, but most importantly improves people's quality of life.