- "Public health is 'the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals'."
Public health policies are the rules and regulations that government agencies use to protect and improve the health of the population. Medical journalists must understand these policies to report accurately on public health issues.
Epidemiology: The study of disease patterns, causes, and distribution in a population, including factors such as demographics, environment, and behaviors.
Health disparities: Differences in health outcomes among different groups of people, such as by race, ethnicity, income, or location.
Health systems: The organizations, policies, and practices that deliver healthcare services to individuals and populations, including issues such as access, quality, and financing.
Health communication: The strategies and techniques used to convey health information and messages to audiences, including considerations such as audience segmentation, messaging, and evaluation.
Health behavior change: The theories and practices used to motivate and support individuals and communities to adopt healthy behaviors, such as smoking cessation or physical activity.
Health policy analysis: The methods used to evaluate the development, implementation, and impact of public health policies, including economic, political, and ethical considerations.
Health news reporting: The standards and practices used by journalists to cover health-related topics, including the role of science, ethics, and cultural competency.
Public opinion and advocacy: The ways in which public opinion and advocacy groups influence public health policy decisions and outcomes, including strategies such as lobbying, grassroots campaigns, and media outreach.
International health: The global health challenges and policies that affect populations worldwide, including issues such as infectious diseases, environmental health, and health inequities.
Health law and ethics: The legal and ethical principles and debates that shape public health policies and practices, including privacy, informed consent, and access to care.
Vaccination policies: These policies aim to promote and regulate the distribution of vaccines to prevent the spread of communicable diseases.
Tobacco control policies: These policies aim to reduce cigarette consumption and exposure to secondhand smoke through regulation, education, and awareness campaigns.
Health insurance policies: These policies aim to provide affordable and accessible health insurance coverage to all individuals, including low-income earners and those with pre-existing conditions.
Environmental health policies: These policies aim to protect public health by regulating and monitoring environmental factors that contribute to disease, such as air and water quality, toxic waste disposal, and hazardous materials.
Maternal and child health policies: These policies aim to ensure the health and wellbeing of pregnant women, infants, and children by providing access to prenatal care, parenting education, and child health services.
Infectious disease control policies: These policies aim to identify, monitor, and control the spread of infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria through surveillance, prevention, and treatment.
Mental health policies: These policies aim to support individuals with mental illnesses by providing access to mental health services, resources, and support.
Nutrition and food safety policies: These policies aim to promote healthy eating habits, ensure the safety and quality of the food supply, and prevent foodborne illnesses.
Injury prevention policies: These policies aim to reduce the incidence and severity of injuries, such as motor vehicle accidents and workplace injuries, through education, regulation, and enforcement.
Emergency preparedness and response policies: These policies aim to ensure that communities are prepared to respond to public health emergencies, such as natural disasters, pandemics, and bioterrorism.
- "Analyzing the determinants of health of a population and the threats it faces is the basis for public health."
- "Epidemiology, biostatistics, social sciences and management of health services are all relevant."
- "Other important sub-fields include environmental health, community health, behavioral health, health economics, public policy, mental health, health education, health politics, occupational safety, disability, oral health, gender issues in health, and sexual and reproductive health."
- "Public health, together with primary care, secondary care, and tertiary care, is part of a country's overall healthcare system."
- "Common public health initiatives include promotion of hand-washing and breastfeeding, delivery of vaccinations, promoting ventilation and improved air quality both indoors and outdoors, suicide prevention, smoking cessation, obesity education, increasing healthcare accessibility, and distribution of condoms to control the spread of sexually transmitted diseases."
- "There is a significant disparity in access to health care and public health initiatives between developed countries and developing countries, as well as within developing countries."
- "In developing countries, public health infrastructures are still forming. There may not be enough trained healthcare workers, monetary resources, or, in some cases, sufficient knowledge to provide even a basic level of medical care and disease prevention."
- "A major public health concern in developing countries is poor maternal and child health, exacerbated by malnutrition and poverty coupled with governments' reluctance in implementing public health policies."
- "Great Britain became a leader in the development of public health initiatives, beginning in the 19th century, due to the fact that it was the first modern urban nation worldwide."
- "The public health initiatives that began to emerge initially focused on sanitation (for example, the Liverpool and London sewerage systems), control of infectious diseases (including vaccination and quarantine) and an evolving infrastructure of various sciences, e.g. statistics, microbiology, epidemiology, sciences of engineering."