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Public Health is the science of protecting and improving the health of communities through education, promotion of healthy lifestyles, and research for disease and injury prevention.

Overall, public health is concerned with protecting the health of entire populations. These populations can be as small as a local neighborhood, or as big as an entire country.

Public health professionals try to prevent problems from happening or reoccurring, in contrast to clinical professionals, such as doctors and nurses, who focus primarily on treating individuals after they become sick or injured.

 

Public health is also a field concerned with limiting health disparities. A large part of public health is the fight for health care equity, quality, and accessibility.

Some Public Health Issues Access to health care Air quality Diseases The consequences of catastrophic events Health disparities Water and food safety Health behaviors Injury prevention

Some Public Health Approaches Scientific research Policy analysis Program evaluation Advocacy Health promotion Health care management Community assessments Laboratory research

References and additional sources:

• www.whatispublichealth.org
• You, Too, Can Make A Difference! (PDF)