What is public health?

Introduction

Public health relates to the health of the population, rather than the individual.   This more holistic approach involves tracking illness frequency within a population (including infectious disease outbreaks), preventing illness and promoting good health.  Much ill health is a direct or indirect result of socioeconomic background and another responsibility of public health is to try to reduce health inequalities.

Because assessments are made for the good of the population, rather than purely the individual, in health services where resources are limited (as in most countries with a publicly-funded service) public health also plays a part in allocating resources and health service structure.

Many different governmental and non-governmental agencies are involved in practising public health in the UK including the National Health Service (NHS), local councils and education authorities, the Prison Service, private businesses, and charities.  Because the subject crosses so many different fields, public health is practised by a large number of different professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds, including nursing, medical, pharmaceutical and dental backgrounds. 

A bit of history

One of the earliest notable public health practitioners was a physician called John Snow.  During a high mortality cholera outbreak in London in the mid-19th century he narrowed down the source of the infection to one particular well; this logic went against a lot of the received wisdom of the day concerning disease transmission.  Dr Snow famously removed the handle of the well pump - making it inoperable - and therefore managed to control the spread of the disease.

Interested?

Read more about training to be a public health specialist in the UK, current and archived articles on public health topics, or browse the menu on the left. Need help with any of the jargon?  See the Glossary.

Recommended reading

For recommended introductory texts please see Recommended books.