1. History and objectives of public health

From greek.doctor
  • History
    • Early public health interventions
      • Romans diverted human waste from urban areas
      • During 14th century’s Black Death, the value of quarantine was discovered
    • Hippocrates: the food we eat, the place we live, the life we live affects our health
    • John Snow:
      • Founder of epidemiology (topic 14).
      • He also challenged the miasma theory (that disease is caused by “bad air” (miasma))
    • Percival Pott: Chimney sweepers develop SCC
    • Edward Jenner: First vaccine (smallpox)
    • Germ theory:
      • Developed slowly
      • John Snow’s work helped replacing the miasma theory with the germ theory
      • Koch’s postulates
        • The germ must be found in all diseased organisms
        • The germ must be isolated and grown in culture
        • The germ should cause disease in healthy organisms
        • The germ must be re-isolated from diseased experiment hosts and confirmed to be the same as the original germ
    • 1980: Smallpox eradicated
  • Objectives of public health
    • Assess and monitor health of communities and populations at risk for disease
    • Formulate health policies designed to solve health problems
    • Assure that the populations have access to cost-effective and appropriate care
    • Perform health promotion and disease prevention