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Explain the components of public health
Essay about definition of public health
Essay about definition of public health
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Recommended: Explain the components of public health
There is no doubt with the advances in technology that, as a population, we are continuing to live longer; yet with the cost of medical care constantly on the raise, is it any wonder an industry would develop out of the concept of “preventative” maintenance? We are after all, all too aware of this concept; from large corporations who strive to maintain their expensive equipment in an attempt to secure the bottom line, to the local neighbor who would rather afford the costs of preventative maintenance over the expense of replacing a broken down vehicle. To that effect, automobile manufacturers have even begun to include major necessary “preventative maintenance” items in their “owner’s manuals.” For instance, I have to replace my timing belt and water pump every 75k miles in my Nissan. Interestingly enough, while we were focused on maintaining everything else around us, somehow we forgot to consider our most valuable complex asset, our bodies. How is it that the maintenance of a human health and its performance somehow got left over looked and left to fall through the cracks?
The need for public health specialists…
Until till recent years the thought of humans not only living well in to their 80’s and 90’s, but living vibrant lives was concept that did not appear to go hand-n-hand. However, today the thought is not only real but, the concept and relevance of “quality of life,” both before and well into the twilight years, is more important than ever before thus making the demand for, and need, of educators and health advocacy even greater.
So, what is public health…?
The concept of public health is not a foreign one; it ultimately emerged from the practice of heroic medicine. Yet today it has evolved into something ...
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... us, knowingly or unknowingly, at greater risk that can and possibly will lead us to a dark place. If this trend is allowed to continue or, perhaps revelation through education suffices and people start making their health a priority, one thing is for sure, either way, the future of the public health professional is not only bright but it will only continue to get brighter.
Sources:
1. www.whatispublichealth.org/what/index.html; Title: What is Public Health
2. www.healthstate.mn.us/pathways/specialtyareas.html ; Title: Public Health Career Specialty Areas; Sub-Specialties of Public Health
3. www.whatispublichealth.org/faqs/index; Title: What is Public Health? – Frequently Asked Questions
4. www.pzfizerpublichealth.com/publichealthbooks.aspx
5. www.whatispublichealth.org/impact/achievement.html; Title: What is Public Health? – Impact of Public Health
Public health is a vast field that encompasses many issues. Generally speaking, it deals with the safety and protection of people in a society as well as education
Touhy, T.A., Freudenberger J.K., Ebersole, P., & Hess, P.A. (2012). Ebersole & Hess' toward healthy aging: human needs & nursing response. Toronto: Mosby Inc. Retrieved from http://evolve.elsevier.com/staticPages/i_index.html
Touhy, T. A., & Jett, K. (2012). Toward healthy aging: Human needs & nursing response (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier/Mosby.
The New England Journal of Medicine shows Graphical statistics of the leading causes of death in the U.S in 1900s with acute infectious diseases such as Influenza and tuberculosis being the most fatal and the emergent diseases to deal with. Due to following the biomedical model, effective medicine and vaccines are produced over the course of time, these diseases have been reduced from an epidemic to a rare occurrence in the 2000s only resulting in developing countries and rarely in western countries and developed places. The old biomedical model was useful at that time of stage because the model primarily deals with the biochemistry of the disease and thus researchers and scientists were able to produce and decrease the rate of the mortality through these diseases significantly over time. However in the 21st century the graph also depicts the leading causes of death in the U.S. in 2010 with heart diseases and cancer, with 192.9 and 185.9 deaths/100,000 respectively, being at the top of the leader board. This explain the importance of the social model over biomedical model in this era. As stated by William C. Cockerham, this is because of the fact that many of diseases are incurable such as cancers and many of these diseases are very expensive in terms of treatment with no guaranteed cure. Cockerham also depicts that
Our arrogance leads us to believe that we know the most about health care but the ancient people, who lived in this country before us, knew more than we are willing to give them credit for. "Their medicine was combination of faith, blind luck and relying on the good earth -- relying on what was there" (Howard, 2000. P.2)
The main elements of the medical model of health are the search for objective, discernable signs of disease, its diagnosis and treatment (Biswas, 1993). Therefore, by adhering to this reductionist view, the human body is seen as a biochemical machine (Turner, 1995) and health merely as an absence of disease, a commodity to be bought and sold. The rise of hospitals with their goal of curing and controlling disease has led to the marginalisation of lay medicine, and a focus upon the individual rather than society as a cause of ill health. Health education and promotion with their focus upon 'victim blaming' and individualism have extended the remit of the medical profession from the hospital into the community. With medical imperialism the power of medicina has grown and medicine has all but replaced religion as an institution of social control. Illich (1976, p53) describes medicine as a: 'moral enterprise.....[which] gives content to good and evil..... like law and religion [it] defines what is normal, proper or desirable'.
There are several theories surrounding the aging adult and what successful aging embodies. A common theme of successful aging is one’s wellness. Wellness in relation to health is represented and encompassed by balance among one’s emotional, social, spiritual, physicality, and culture. As demographics begin to change in our country, new and changing definitions of what successful aging means among our society are developed through research and practice of caring for those within the population of older adults.
What do you really know about the lifestyles of aging population? What do you know about aging and its effects? There are more myths about older people than they are of any other stage of people’s lives. Aging in America is a success story for public health policies and socioeconomic development, and as a society it forces us to maximize the health and functional capacity of the ageing American. A portion of Americans 65 years and over will make 13 percent of the U.S. population and is expected to rise in fewer than 25 years, which will increase, to 20 percent by the year 2050. A number of ageing Americans are living longer and staying increasingly active and for older adult’s good health ensures independence. With millions of Americans aging they struggle daily with health challenges, physical changes, psychological problems which all can impact their quality of life.
At an early stage in my medical school in Iraq, I realized the great positive impact of public health on the community in health education orientation, disease prevention and health well-being as a general and what affirmed it later, my clinical practice as a physician in Iraq first then Dubai later. Public health was a major integral block in my clinical practice to educate the people towards a healthier lifestyle and implementing the preventative screening measures necessary to get a healthy, well protected community. After moving to the United States, I took the initiative to familiarize myself with the US healthcare system by doing many clinical rotations in different family practices and pediatric clinics in Houston, TX. After these rotations, I was enamored with the delivery of public health measures in each clinic, according to the US public health standards. My fondness for public health drove me to get an opportunity to be a health educator
In some way, public health is seen as a modern philosophical and ideological perspective based on ‘equity’ and aimed to determine inequitable in society. It seen as a ‘science’ and ‘art’ in the sense that it deals with the cause of disease, treatment of illness as well as it involves laboratory experiments, intervention and promoting of health of the population. Winslow (1920, p. 23) defined public health as ‘the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting physical health and efficiency through organised community efforts for the sanitation of the environment, the control community infections, the education of the individual in principles of personal hygiene, the organisation of medical and nursing service for early diagnosis and preventive treatment of disease, and the development of social machinery which will ensure to every individual in the community a standard of living adequate for the maintenance of health. On the other hand, it is ‘the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through organised effort of society’ (Acheson, 1998; in Cowley S, 2002, p. 261).
As American society has evolved in the past 100 years and technology has increased and improved, so has the life expectancy for individuals. Currently, females can expect to live for 81 years on average, while males can expect to live for 75 years, giving an average life expectancy of 78.3 years (Santrock, 2013, p.536). According to Santrock (2013), “since 1900, improvements in medicine, nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle have increased our life expectancy an average of 30 additional years,” but another important factor is the decreasing infant mortality, allowing a larger population of people, including older adults (p.536). Making good choices in diet, regular exercise, avoiding drugs and alcohol, along with getting enough sleep and maintaining a low and healthy stress level can all increase life expectancy. Relationships, emotional well-being, and having purpose all also play an important role in determining how long an individual will live. As people are living longer, more ...
Health and Aging Often we take our health, or the absence of illness, disease, or injury for granted until we become sick. It is then that we recognize the worth of being without ailments. It is then that we appreciate feeling strong, robust and healthy. Being healthy and, being physically and mentally sound, is associated with one's satisfaction with life.
Health care has always been an interesting topic all over the world. Voltaire once said, “The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.” It may seem like health care that nothing gets accomplished in different health care systems, but ultimately many trying to cures diseases and improve health care systems.
The Schulich Interfaculty MPH Program emphasizes public health leadership, policy and sustainability. What are your career aspirations in public health and how will our MPH facilitate these aspirations?
Public Health is the science of preventing disease and promoting health through many different ideas and functions by informing society and different community-based organizations. The idea behind Public Health is to protect and serve; it helps improve the lives of countless individuals through promoting a healthier lifestyle, education, research, prevention, detection, and response management. From the beginning, the idea of Public Health has become a stepping-stone that is essential to the longevity of humans and the environment. As society progresses and new advents are created or modified, Public Health