This article attempts to give a definition to the notion of 'public health', which we use increasingly often in our analysis. There is no universally approved definition and opinions vary widely, ranging from the utopian conception of the WHO of an ideal state of physical and mental health to a more concrete listing of public health practices. Charles-Edward A. Winslow, for example, defined public health in 1920 as:
the science and the art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical health and efficiency through organized community efforts for the sanitation of the environment, the control of community infections, the education of the individual in principles of personal hygiene, [and] the organization of medical and nursing service for the early diagnosis and preventive treatment of disease.
More recent definitions focus on the concept of positive health, including not only objective factors but also the subject's personal perception of its own health into the picture. There are four elements, generally agreed upon, that take part in a person's health: high quality personal relationships, a sense of purpose in life, self-regard and resilience and a healthy body. This reflects the change in perspective on health, switching from a focus on physical health to more subtle issues affecting social behavior and social integration.
We give for now a general definition and discuss the itchier aspects as the story unfolds.
Public health.
Definition:
Society's obligation to assure the conditions for people's health.
Mission:
Promote physical and mental health by preventing disease, injury, and disability.