Keleher And Macdouger's Definition Of Public Health

QUESTION 2. Keleher and MacDougall (2011) use the notion of upstream and downstream to explore notions of the causation and levels of action. They argue that instead of just moving upstream to see what conditions led the patients to fall in, we should also look up and around to see how the stream started in the first place - so the causes of the causes (you can find details relating to this from pg.40 or so but you can also look further around notions of cause in the text). Explain what the authors mean by this idea of upstream and downstream causes and how it relates to a health determinants approach/framework.

The encapsulating notion of Keleher and MacDougal’s (2011) statement insinuates that the extent of an individual’s health is parallel

This includes the ‘new public health approach’. This expressive approach illustrates how ‘the multifaceted relationships between social, environmental, cultural, economic and political determinants affect health, as well as working towards an equality for a better health’ (Keleher & MacDougall, 2011). Likewise, this ‘new public health approach’ interrelates with other diverse approaches, but specifically with the ‘sociological approach’. These dimensions work hand-in-hand, in order to promote a positive lifestyle, by improving the factors in life individuals take for granted, such as an income, education and living and working conditions. A hypothetical example which exemplifies this, is if there were a middle-low class family, who worked long hours of the day for minimal pay due to their lack of education, and were unable to provide a great enough income for the education of their children. However, the government was able to provide the necessity of education for their children. In essence, this would relieve the family’s stress of not being able to provide the income for their child’s education, thus improving the mental health of the family, as well as the social health of the child being able to socialise and making friends in a comfortable, stable

These differentiating notions focus on two basis’, an individual and population landscape, all wanting to achieve the same objective, for individuals to live healthy lives.

Reference List:

➢ Irwin, A. & Scali, E. (2005). Action on the Social Determinants of Health: Learning from Previous Experiences - A background paper prepared for the Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/social_determinants/resources/action_sd.pdf

➢ Keleher, H. & MacDougall, C. (2011). Understanding Health: 3rd edition. South Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press.

➢ Northern Territory Department of Health. (2011). Health Promotion: Strategic Framework 2011-2015. Retrieved from http://www.health.nt.gov.au/library/scripts/objectifyMedia.aspx?file=pdf/66/68.pdf

➢ Scheuer, R. (2014). EDUH1006 Identifying Health Determinants, Lecture 1-3: Health Approaches. [Lecture PowerPoint slides). Retrieved from https://elearning.sydney.edu.au

➢ World Health Organisation. (1948). WHO Determinants of Health. Geneva: WHO. Retrieved from: