Preventive Medicine
& Public health
Dr. NEVEEN NABIL
Objectives
What is public health
 Sub fields of the public health
 Objectives of the public health field
 Public health agencies
 Functions of public health

Preventive Medicine

Is the branch of medicine that concentrates
on keeping people well.
Goals :
Disease prevention deals with techniques
that prevent the occurrence of disease, or
lead to an early diagnosis, or modify the
progression of the disease.
 Health promotion deals with techniques
that improve the quality of life.

Preventive medicine activities can
be divided Into two broad areas:
Public Health
 Risk factors evaluation

What is Public Health

The science and art of preventing disease,
and promoting health through organized
efforts and informed choices of society
organizations,
public
and
private,
community and individuals
Sub fields
Epidemiology
 Biostatistics and health services
 Environmental
 Social & behavioral health
 Occupational health

Objectives
The focus of public Health interventions is
to
prevent rather than treat a disease
through:
 Surveillance of cases
 Promotion of healthy behavior
 Treating a disease: in many cases this
may be vital to preventing it in others
 Many diseases are preventable through
simple non medical methods
Examples of public health
measures
Hand washing
 Vaccination programs
 Seat belt
 Exercise in schools

Public health agencies
Local
ministries of health (federal and
states)
International non governmental
organization
National organizations
Health care in developing
countries
High rates of disease and mortality
result
from and contribute to extreme poverty
Main factors are:
1. Poor infrastructure
2. Poor monetary resources
3. Deficient trained health workers

History of public health

From the beginning of human civilization
it was recognized that polluted water and
lack of proper waste disposal spread
communicable diseases

Modern public health
As the prevalence of infectious diseases
in the developed world decreased
through the 20th century, public health
began to put more focus on chronic
diseases such as cancer and heart
diseases
Changing concepts in public
health
Disease control phase
 Health for all phase
 Health promotion phase
 Millennium developmental goals
…..what are they

Public health functions
Health surveillance, monitoring and analysis
 Investigation of disease outbreaks and epidemics
 Designing and managing health promotion and
disease prevention programs
 Enabling and empowering communities to promote
health and reduce in equalities
 Creating and sustaining cross-governmental and
intersectoral partnership
 Ensuring compliance with regulations and laws
 Developing and maintaining a well educated and a
trained Public health workers
 Research
 Quality assurance

Public health programmes
Today most governments recognize
the importance of public health
programmes in reducing the
incidence of disease and disability
 Examples:
1. Vaccination programs
2. Aids
3. Tuberculosis
4. Diabetes

Community Medicine

The successors of what was
previously known as public health,
community health, preventive and
social medicine
Next lecture
What are the health dimensions
 What are the health determinants

Health Dimensions
What is health

“Health is a state of complete ,
physical, mental and social wellbeing
and not merely an absence of disease
or infirmity”
WHO definition :
Iceberg Model of Wellness
State of health
Lifestyle/behavioral level
Cultural/psychological/motivational
level
Spiritual/being/meaning
realm
The Wellness-Illness Continuum
Premature
death
Illness
Symptoms
Average
health
Emotional
growth
Optimal health
Zest and wellness
for life
Dimensions of Health
Health is multidimensions
 By definition of health there are 3
dimension physical, mental and social.
 Although these dimensions function
and interact with one others, each has
its own nature, and for descriptive
purpose will be treated separately

The Dimensions of Health
Physical
Health
Good physical fitness and
confidence in one’s personal
ability to take care of health
problems.
The Dimensions of Health
Psychologic Psychological health refers to
al Health
both our emotional and mental
states – that is, to our feelings
and our thoughts.
The Dimensions of Health
Spiritual
Health
The ability to identify one’s basic
purpose in life and to achieve
one’s full potential; the sense of
connectedness to a greater
power.
The Dimensions of Health
Social Health The ability to interact effectively
with other people and the social
environment, to develop
satisfying interpersonal
relationships, and to fulfill social
roles.
The Dimensions of Health
Intellectual
Health
Your ability to think and learn
from life experience, your
openness to ideas, and your
capacity to question and
evaluate information.
The Dimensions of Health
Environment The impact your world has on
al Health
your well-being.
Staying Healthy

Prevention
◦ Information and support offered to help
healthy people identify their health risks,
reduce stressors, prevent potential medical
problems, and enhance their well-being.

Protection
◦ Measures that an individual can take when
participating in risky behavior or prevent
injury and unwanted risks.