1. Public health is
"the science and art of preventing disease", prolonging healthy life an
improving quality of life through organized efforts and informed
choices of society , organizations (public and private),
communities and individual.
"Health care is vital to all of us some of the time, but public health is vital to all of us all of the time."
2. The public health approach
involves defining and measuring the problem, determining the cause or
risk factors for the problem, determining how to prevent or ameliorate
the problem, and implementing effective strategies on a larger scale and
evaluating the impact.
The 4 Step Public Health Approach was developed by the CDC. The steps are:
1. Define and monitor the problem.
2. Identify risk and protective factors.
3. Develop and test prevention strategies and
4. Assure widespread adoption.