Fundamentals of Public Health

A dynamic field of medicine, Public health not just aims at improving the health of individuals, but is rather concerned with the overall health of populations. Public Health is the science and art of preventing ailments and diseases, promoting people’s efficiency and physical health, and prolonging life. These are achieved through coordinated and organized efforts of the community toward controlling infections, sanitation of the environment, and educating individuals about the principles of personal hygiene.

Organizing health care and nursing services for prior diagnoses and treatment aimed at prevention of diseases are among the basic needs of maintaining public health. Achieving the social machinery that ensures a living standard to all individuals that is sufficient for health maintenance is part of public health. Healthcare service providers are entrusted with the task of maintaining the health of populations.

The Role of Health Care

Unlike public health, health care focuses primarily on individual’s health. Prevention, treatment, and improvement of individuals’ healthcare can be achieved through properly educating the individuals, empowering them with easy and simple access to healthcare facilities, and by providing safe and secure healthcare delivery using reliable tools and applications, leveraging technology.

Investing in the right healthcare solutions leads to enhanced quality of life, healthier and better living style, and increased life expectancy. Healthcare happens to be interdisciplinary. Health issues can be effectively addressed not just through healthcare but by a collective effort to achieve best practices, involving educators from varied disciplines such as journalists, economists, policymakers, and educators. Collaboration among various experts helps to bridge the gap between implementation and knowledge. Appropriate health solutions may be attained and a healthy, as well as sustainable future, can be achieved only through collective efforts.

Role of Physicians in Achieving Public Health & Health Care

Physicians may provide several of the required characteristics that are essential for primary-public healthcare interface. On one hand, primary care or health care involves activities such as preventive medical practices, screening and intervention, evidence-oriented health care, and health advocacy and health promotion. On the other hand, public health activities such as surveillance of the population, disease control, process-based health determinants, prevention of injuries, and policy generation assist in facilitating primary care’s capability to perform better. Family physicians, with their better relationship with patients, may provide the much-expected transformation in the quality of healthcare.

To improve Public Health as well as Healthcare, people need to be educated, access to medical information must be improved, and medical professionals must assist in taking care delivery to the next level. Using strategic and proactive steps, it will be possible to enhance the quality of life and improve healthcare in the future.