Addressing the health of communities involves collaboration within different sectors to achieve these goals. "Public health" and "population health" are two terms that are often used interchangeably, but there are differences between the two and it is important to understand these differences. Addressing health in communities also involves planning, by ensuring that the built environment, where people live, work, and play, also promotes healthy lifestyles. Each of these subject areas bring unique frameworks, processes, and strategies to address issues of health in communities. Public HealthThe philosophies and principles surrounding public health have been around since the Hippocratic physiology described the four humours (blood, black bile, yellow bile, and phlegm) in ancient Greece. 1 Civilizations, then scholars and journalists noted health impacts, attempted remedies, and identified results. By the 1800s, industrialization and urbanization brought the spread of cholera, smallpox, dysentery, and other infectious diseases to New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, and beyond. Early public health efforts 1 included identifying environmental improvement to prevent endemic disease (Lemuel Shattuck), reporting of maternal and fetal mortality rates (Lemuel Shattuck), and improving sanitation practices (C.E.A. Winslow) -all which evolved into the public health that we know today.Public health is the "science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities, and individuals." 2 Public health focuses on the population's health as a whole, initiates prevention strategies, and identifies problems that may affect the larger population.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century 3 are: 1. Immunizations. There were dramatic declines in vaccine-preventable diseases and smallpox was eradicated.
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