Critical Review of differences on Public Health Concept

The term 'Public Health' came into general use around 1840. It arose from the need to protect the people from the spread of communicable diseases. later various national and local movements by great pioneers and advocates of public health like Sir Edwin Chadwick, led to the formation of law, Public Health Act in England in 1848. The act was formed in order to crystallize the efforts organized by society to protect, promote and restore people's health.

In 1920, CEA Winslow defined Public Health as "the science and art of preventing diseases, prolonging life, and promoting health through organized community efforts."

Later WHO Expert Committee on Public Health Administration, adopted Winslow's earlier definition and defined Public Health as: 

          "the science and art of preventing diseases, prolonging life and promotion health and efficiency through organized community efforts for the sanitation of environment, control of communicable infections, education of the individuals in principles of personal hygiene, organization of medical and nursing services for early diagnosis and preventive treatment of disease, and the development of the social machinery which will ensure to every individual in the community a standard of living adequate for the maintenance of health, so organizing benefits as to enable every citizens to realize his birthright of health and longevity."

Likewise, a EURO symposium in 1966 suggested that the definition of public health should be expanded to include the organization of medical care services.

With adoption of the goal of 'Health for All', a new public health was evident worldwide, which may be defined as:

           "the organized application of local, state, national and international resources to achieve 'Health for All', i.e. attainment by all the people of the world by the year 2000 of a level of health that will permit them to lead a socially and economically productive life."

Institute of Medicine (IOM), 1988 in classic report "the future of Public Health" has defined Public Health as 

           "an organized community efforts to address the public interest in health by applying scientific and technical knowledge to prevent disease and promote health."

Thus, Public health is both a body of knowledge and also a means to apply that knowledge. Public health, in its present form, is a combination of scientific disciplines (e.g. epidemiology, biostatistics, demography, etc.) and skills and strategies (e.g. epidemiological investigations, planning and management, interventions, surveillance, evaluation) that are directed to the maintenance and improvement of the health of the people.