Abstract
This paper gives a glimpse into Public Health by defining its meaning, describing its history and evolution, looking into a key result by way of vaccines, and wrapping it all together with what the future might hold. The paper will describe the relationship between individuals and groups and how Public Health is more focused on the group even though each individual is affected by Public Health. With the use of examples taken from specific moments in time, the paper will go through the history and progression of Public Health. Links from prehistoric time will show traces of Public Health before it officially became a disciple. A positive result of Public Health is the ever evolving technology, use, and distribution of vaccines. Facts and discussion related to vaccines will show the benefits as well as the continual work to be done.
A Glimpse into Public Health The world is continuing to grow and diversify. Most can remember back to the history lesson where one learned about the small pox epidemic that spread during the Spanish conquest over the Aztecs. Today, Public Health focuses on minimizing such epidemics through research and education. Public Health is a multi-level, complex idea, that many have dedicated their lives for the sake of the overall health of the Community. This paper is only a glimpse into understanding Public Health, how and why it became, its benefits, and what the future holds.
Definition of Public Health
Public health according to
Public health is the measures taken by the government to prevent ill health and disease. The government monitor health so that they can develop different programmes and legislation to improve the health and well being of the people in the country. They do this by attempting to solve inequalities, so that all people not matter what are able to live a healthy life. There are eight policies to improve today's public health, these are; planning for health
Throughout history, vaccinations have been used to help the prevention of infectious diseases; some of which can produce serious illnesses, crippling disabilities, and ultimately be the cause of death. There is evidence of ancient culture’s attempting to treat transmittable diseases with various forms of inoculations. Developments in the research of vaccinations increased during the mid-twentieth century because of the established of more advanced laboratories, improved equipment, and new innovations. The progression of medicine during history has helped further the development of research into vaccinations. Several cultural, ethical, and religious issues have resulted from the development and use of vaccinations in our society. The topic of vaccinations has caused a strong debate amongst our culture about the safety and danger of treating infectious diseases with such methods.
Medical system in the world have defined Health in their own ways since time immemorial. Winslow (1920) defines public health as “ The science and art of preventing disease , prolonging life and promoting physical and mental efficiency through organised community effort for the sanitation of the environment , the control of communicable infections , the education of the individual in personal hygiene , the organisation medical and nursing services for the early diagnosis and preventive treatment of disease ”.
For second part of reading response, I choose to report on Promoting public understanding of public health article by our professor Stephen Bezruchka. I really enjoyed reading the article he wrote about how people in the America are being less healthy than those people in other rich nations. Promoting public awareness about this topic should be high priority for all Public Health majors. Health is the most important part of human life and it surprising to me that people in America are not really doing anything to change it. Solving this problem need individual supports and public supports.
AS we are all know public health deals with identifying and preventing the disease among the community . Public health refers to "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals." It is concerned with threats to health based on population health analysis. Some of the events that played a major role in the improvement of public health are immunization , flouridation of drinking water to prevent dental caries , family planning and so on .
This essay will attempt to investigate the employment of the 23 plus vaccinations used today and how they defend the preventions and spread of diseases. The paper will support the pros and the cons of vaccinations that are supported by research statistics as well as the different symptoms that have been reported for each available vaccine.
The last decade has seen the seemingly brilliant solution to disease epidemics turn into a highly controversial subject. The ongoing debate between pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine has credible arguments on both sides. Those who are pro-vaccine have the overwhelming statistics of disease prevention to their disposal, and the anti-vaccine argument can argue that there are potentially safer ways to prevent the spread of disease. The health aspects of vaccines have been
The opinion of Eula Biss, an American non-fiction writer, is “Imagine the action of a vaccine not just in terms of how it affects a single body, but also in terms of how it affects the collective body of a community”. This statement indicates the significance of vaccination not only in terms of self-insurance, but for avoidance infecting others. Routine immunization programs protect most of the world’s children from a number of infectious diseases that previously took millions of lives each
Dominique Robert’s (2008) theoretical framework in the article “Prison and/as Public Health. Prison and Inmates as Vectors of Health in the New Public Health Era. The Case of Canadian Penitentiaries” focuses on structural elements that explain the use of correctional health care in the prison setting today and how this plays a role in the broader public health strategies in the outside community. He does this by explaining factors such as “the mobilisation of prison as a tool for the new public health” and "the production of inmates into healthcare ‘consumers’, along with the role of actuarial justice.”
Public Health interventions and strategies changed greatly over time. During 19th and 20th century lead to concentrate on public health more closely due to epidemic battles of diseases and population growth. Epidemic outbreaks of typhoid, small pox, polio, influenza, cholera and other diseases caused city and public to awaken and educate on health information. (Chicago history case study, November 30, 2006, https://www.uic.edu/sph/prepare/courses/PHLearning/resources/chicagohistory.htm.). Sanitation, pasteurization, vaccinations were introduced along with board of public health department being introduced in government. (Rauner, Bruce. Public Health in Illinois. http://www.idph.state.il.us/timeline/history2000.htm). Mortality rate that
The advancements in immunization have led to positive social impacts and drastically improved public health. Research has shown that, “through the prevention of damage that can be caused by infectious diseases, they also appear to benefit in terms of cognitive development” (“Berkley”). Scientific evidence has shown that when kids become vaccinated, there is a positive social boost. If a child doesn’t get vaccinated and catches an illness, they aren’t able to go to school. Healthy children are able to get an education and become productive members of society. Statistics show that “more than 15,000 Americans died from diphtheria in 1921, before there was a vaccine. Only two cases of diphtheria have been reported to the CDC between 2004 and 2014” (“What Would Happen If We Stopped Vaccinations”). Thousands of people would die from illnesses before there was vaccines. When
This paper is about the taking a journey back through time and identifying many of the health diseases which drastically impacted the United States during the 19th and the 20th Century. Furthermore, this paper will list the social determinants which strongly influenced the need for public health change and the educational methodologies used to reduce the opportunistic pathogens the ability to infect or preventing viruses from replicating.
Measles. Polio. Smallpox. The flu. Imagine the world when vaccines were yet to be created. There was a time when people lived in fear of dreadful diseases. Thanks to the introduction of vaccines, many of those devastating diseases have been nearly or completely wiped out. Despite these results, for some people, the question remains: should we vaccinate? Today, I will be discussing the development of the first vaccine, global benefits, and the anti-vaccine movement.
Public health strategies and interventions have changed drastically over time. Bloodletting is one of the most ancient forms of medical interventions. It originated in the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Greece, persisting through the Medieval, Renaissance, and Enlightenment periods (PBS). Doctors used the bloodletting method for every ailment imaginable; from pneumonia, bone fractures, and even wounds, bloodletting was as trusted and popular as aspirin is today.
The 21st Century has seen the healthcare system struggle with challenges such as an increase in chronic conditions, an increase in government spending on public health, and emerging threats such as global health security and antibiotic resistance. On the positive side, more people have gained access to care. To deal with these emerging issues as well as existing challenges, we need an effective public health workforce. The public health has the role of protecting the health of citizens. This could be through health promotion and lobbying for increased access to care. To address the problem of the rise in chronic ailments, public health has a role of creating awareness on chronic conditions, their symptoms and management. This is because these conditions are expensive to treat and drain the resources of patients and their families. Public health should therefore educate the public on the importance of screening and conduct these screening services for early diagnosis and prevention of chronic diseases. Another role of public health in the 21st Century is to provide and use evidence based practice in providing clinical services. This would help in addressing some of the emerging challenges such as antibiotic resistance.