Public Health (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain what public health is, its functions and what organizations and institutions administer it. Also, his achievements in the 20th century.

What is public health?

public health It is the medical discipline in charge of the study of forms of protection, support and improvement of health of human populations. It is dedicated to both hygiene and disease prevention, as well as its control and eradication.

To do this, it draws on knowledge from other scientific fields such as biology, sociology and other branches of medicine. It is also one of the pillars of university medical training.

Public health as a discipline has a relatively recent formal existence, which coincides with the discovery of the basic sanitation techniques of modern medicine. However, many of its contents have been known or at least intuited by humanity since time immemorial.

Each of the ancient peoples had their own sanitation methods and their own concepts of public health, even when it involved a combination of philosophical knowledge and religious knowledge. In fact, it is estimated that many of the ritual prohibitions regarding behavior, food and customs in religious texts such as the Bible or the Koran have a health origin.

However, today public health is one of the main medical disciplines in practice. In general terms, it studies the following determinants of health, that is, the factors that govern the health of people:

The lifestyle. Especially in relation to physical exercise (or sedentary lifestyle) and vices (cigarettes, alcohol, etc.).
Human biology. That is, the genetic inheritance with which we are born and that predisposes us to suffer from certain ailments and be resistant to others.
The national health system. That is, the ease of access to the medical and preventive services that our nation offers us.
The environment. In terms of what type of infectious agents or harmful effects we may be frequently exposed to.

Public health functions

Public health is exercised differently in different nations, but broadly speaking it fulfills the following functions:

Diagnosis, evaluation and follow-up of diseases that afflict the population.
Maintenance of the surveillance and attention device public in health matters (hospitals, outpatient centers, etc.).
Education and promotion of hygiene methodsprevention and reaction to diseases and other similar incidents.
Evaluation of access to health resources in the country and promoting their improvement.
Reducing the impact of epidemicsdisasters and catastrophes in national public health.

Public health organizations and institutions

public health unicef international organizations — International organizations like Unicef prevent and combat various diseases.

Public health is one of the great national, regional and global concerns. It is particularly important since the interconnectedness of the world allowed the rapid transport of people over great distances, thus promoting the possibility of the emergence of new diseases or the equally rapid spread of their contagion.

Therefore, there are international cooperation organizations and institutions dedicated to the area of public health, such as:

The World Health Organization (WHO). The highest international authority on public health, it seeks to coordinate the efforts of nations in epidemiological and preventive matters, both in normal and emergency situations.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). It is an organization attached to the United Nations that ensures the eradication of hunger and malnutrition in the world, serving as a forum for discussion of such matters in neutral terms.
UNICEF. Also attached to the United Nations, this Children's Fund is responsible for combating poverty, malnutrition and educational marginalization in the world, especially in underdeveloped countries, and therefore has an important impact on preventive education and public health of the nations.
UNAIDS. The United Nations Organization to coordinate the fight against Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) throughout the world.
The United Nations Human Settlements Program (UNDP). Based in Nairobi, Kenya, and founded in 1978, it aims to promote sustainable development in Third World nations, thus achieving economic and social advances in health.

Public health achievements in the 20th century

As in other matters, the 20th century represented an enormous leap forward for public health that translated into enormous achievements such as:

Large-scale childhood vaccination. Through extensive national, regional and global vaccination days, the incidence of common diseases was reduced and child mortality was considerably reduced throughout the world, even managing to practically eradicate diseases such as polio.
The control of numerous infectious diseases. Among them measles, the Ebola outbreaks in Africa and even, despite not yet having a cure, the great AIDS/HIV pandemic that took place during the 1980s.
Invention and widespread use of antibiotics. Since the discovery of penicillin in 1928, 3 generations of antibiotic compounds have been artificially created, useful for treating numerous bacterial infections. Its use was so widespread and on such a large scale in various areas of human life that at the end of the century bacteria began to demonstrate resistance to the first two generations.
Fluoridation of drinking water. Despite initial mistrust, this technique proved to be of capital importance when treating water for human consumption, eliminating a very high percentage of the presence of bacteria and other microorganisms.
Family planning methods. The arrival of contraceptive pills in the 20th century, within the framework of the so-called “Sexual Revolution” of the 60s and 70s, brought with it the possibility of planning conception and entering into motherhood with greater possibilities and greater control.
Tobacco ban. Although in the middle of the 20th century there was already debate regarding the link between cigarette consumption and cancer, hypertension and cardio-respiratory diseases, at the end of the century there was no doubt about this relationship and the cigarettes were gradually banned. public spaces, within the framework of a crusade against diseases linked to this habit.
Extension of life expectancy. Going from the initial 50-65 years to the current figure of around 80 years of life, at least in developed nations.