Public health is a field that uses research and insights to promote healthy practices and prevent disease and injury, all on a population scale. Unlike most healthcare, which centers around treating existing diseases and injuries, public health focuses on the prevention of illness through community-wide interventions, including laws and policies that protect the public from disease.
While there is no one definition of public health, it is generally defined as:
Being science-based. Effective public health activities and policies draw from the latest scientific information and evidence, and are adapted as new knowledge is generated.
Taking into account the larger environmental context. This includes examining how factors like diet, housing stability and quality, access to parks and transportation, education, social connections, and employment can affect people’s overall health.
Focusing on the prevention of disease. While medical treatments are important for our health, preventing disease is often more cost-effective than treating it once it occurs. Public health interventions are aimed at reducing the number of people who get sick and die, especially among groups who have been historically disadvantaged.
The scope of public health is vast, encompassing everything from vaccination requirements to disaster preparedness. The field also encompasses research and data collection, such as the use of statistics to correlate factors like age, race, and gender with health outcomes, or how a disease or infection is spread.
The way in which governments structure and carry out their public health responsibilities can vary significantly across states and territories. In the US, for instance, some states have decentralized governance structures that see most or all of their public health agencies operate at the local level and where primary decision-making powers lie with state representatives. This can make it harder to coordinate efforts on a national scale, as was seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.