What is Public Health? - General Introduction
Many of the major improvements in the health of American people have been accomplished through public health measures. Control of epidemics, safe food, water, and maternal and child health services are only a few of the public health achievements that have prevented countless deaths and improved the quality of American life. (The Future of Public Health, Institute of Medicine, 1988)
Over the centuries, there have been many attempts to define public health. In 1988, the Committee for the Study of the Future of Public Health, through the Institute of Medicine, culminated their work with a report, The Future of Public Health. This report contains the following definition: Public Health is what we, as a society, do collectively to assure the conditions in which people can be healthy. (The Future of Public Health, Institute of Medicine, 1988)
Much earlier, public health leader C.E.A. Winslow began his definition of public health in this fashion: the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health and efficiency through organized community effort. (Winslow CEA. The untitled field of public health. Mod Med. 920;2:183-191)
Public health is a complex but essential system and the local board of health is an integral player. This section will lay some ground work for better understanding the public health system.
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The Operational Definition of a Functional Local Health Department (Brochure) was developed by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) in 2005 to describe and promote the emerging trend of standards-based public health. Throughout the document, the basic responsibilities that every local public health agency should follow are described, including the core functions and the ten essential public health services that local public health agencies should strive for when working with state public health, communities, and governing bodies, so that public health is standard throughout every jurisdiction.
Operational Definition Brochure from NACCHO [3]
More information on the NACCHO Web site [4]
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This document lists the most common acronyms and abbreviations used in public health settings in Iowa. Categories of acronyms and abbreviations in this document include Iowa organizations, national organizations, bureaus of local public health services, abbreviations and acronyms used frequently at the Iowa Department of Public Health, organizations that work with the elderly, organizations that work with children and families, homeland security, disease and immunizations, agencies at the state level, and other assorted agencies that commonly work with local public health agencies.
Public Health and Common Acronyms [5]
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This book highlights the need for effective public health services due to ever-increasing threats to the public's health in the 21st century. The vision of Healthy People 2010 is reaffirmed in this text, and a systems approach to public health practice, research, and policy is outlined.
Title: "The Future of the Public's Health
in the 21st Century"
Author: The Institute of Medicine of the
National Academies (2003)
Publisher: The National Academies Press
More information about the book. [6]
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Links
[1] https://universaldesign.training-source.org/section-i-what-public-health
[2] https://universaldesign.training-source.org/training/toolkits/local-boards-health-toolkit-2016
[3] https://www.training-source.org/sites/default/files/boh/documents/OperationalDefinitionBrochure.pdf
[4] http://www.naccho.org/toolbox
[5] https://dhs.training-source.org/sites/default/files/u944/Public%20Health%20and%20Common%20Acronyms.pdf
[6] http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10548