Question

How has the approach or focus of public health changed over the last 200 years? What events or movements in public health and epidemiology would you consider most influential? Why?

Subject: Public and Community Health

Answer 1

During the last 150 years, 2 factors have moulded the modern public health arrangement: firstly, the growth of scientific know-how about sources & means of disease control; secondly, the growth of public acknowledgement of disease control as both a possibility & a public duty. In earlier times, whilst less was known about the causes of disease, community tended to regard sickness with a degree of resignation, & hardly any public actions were undertaken. As knowledge of sources of infection & means of disease control became more refined, more effectual interventions against health hazards were developed. Public agencies were formed to engage newly found interventions against health hazards. As scientific know-how grew, public authorities expanded in order to take up new tasks, including immunization, sanitation, regulation, health education & personal health care.

From the 1930s thru the 1970s, local, state, and federal duties in health continued to rise. The federal role in healthcare also became more noticeable. A strong federal government & governmental role in safeguarding social welfare were publicly backed social values of this period. From Roosevelt's New Deal ( 1930s) thru Johnson's Great Society ( 1960s), a federal role in services impacting the health of citizens became well established. The federal government , state & local health organizations took on greater roles in giving and planning healthcare services, in health education, and in funding health services. The organizations also continued & augmented activities in environmental hygiene, epidemiology & health statistics.