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Ministry of Health

For Healthcare Professionals

Why is Public Health Important?

Public health is fundamental to a modern 21st century health system and shares the same overall goals as the rest of the health care system, which is to reduce premature death and to minimize the effects of disease, disability, and injury. The intent of public health is to promote a healthier population. This is quintessential to a sustainable health care system, and also provides economic and social benefits for the province due in part to increased productivity.

There are two underlying principles in public health programs, services and institutions that differ from clinical medicine:

  1. The focus of public health is health promotion and disease prevention rather than treatment of diseases
  2. Public health addresses the health needs of populations as a whole instead of individuals

These principles allow public health to work in a complementary fashion to clinical medicine in all of its core functions. Core functions in public health include health promotion and protection, disease prevention, health assessment and disease surveillance. As an example of disease prevention, clinicians are actively engaged in counselling and providing pharmaceutical supports to facilitate smoking cessation for high-risk individuals. Moreover, public health professionals are working with various partners and institutions that range from policymakers to the public to make cigarettes less accessible by regulation (taxation, restriction of advertisements and minimal legal age for purchasing) and health promotion (educating and social marketing targeted at adolescents to reduce smoking initiation).

One of the most recent examples of public health working in tandem with clinical medicine is the preparation and management of the pandemic influenza. Public health was responsible for developing pandemic preparedness protocols and guidelines on federal, provincial, territorial and local levels prior to and during the emergence of the novel H1N1 influenza virus. Throughout the pandemic, public health carried out active surveillance of the pandemic activity, coordinated the pandemic vaccine clinics, and communicated current information to healthcare professionals. Healthcare professionals also had an integral part in pandemic preparedness and management by keeping abreast of the updates and protocols regarding the pandemic, providing clinical expertise to guide and inform pandemic management policies, and delivering health care services to patients.

Indeed, public health and clinical medicine are indispensable partners in a well-functioning health system that is critical to both individual and population health.

Public health has developed as a “society’s response to threats to the collective health of its citizens and has an enviable record of contributions to population health status” (Naylor, 2003). As such endeavours necessitate working on complex issues and interactions between determinants of health, public health requires multisectoral partnerships. This means that everyone has a role to play in public health activities and programs whether it is a pregnant mother who is concerned about the effects of an early child development or a non-governmental organization that advocates a reduction in obesity or a business group that wants to develop healthy policies in a workplace.

Many of the health threats in the 21st century require changing personal health habits. Healthcare providers may intervene to change these behaviours for those that are at high risk. To affect change at a population level, we need to change the norms in how we carry out our daily lives (for example: what type of transportation we take to work, what and where we eat, and whether we exercise or not). This type of changes takes time and requires combined and participatory approaches of education, community development and healthy public policy. Public health professionals and organizations are adept at assessing and analyzing population health issues, interpreting evidence and research to guide the development of health policies and programs, and facilitating collaboration of diverse partners to address population health issues.

Research has shown that good health is fundamental to leading not only a healthy but also a productive life. Public health focuses on heath promotion, health protection, as well as disease and injury prevention because healthier British Columbians will create a solid foundation for a sustainable health care system and provide economic and social benefits for the province.

Reference

  1. HMSO. (1988). The Report of the Committee of Injury into the Future Development of the Public Health Function. London: CMND 289.
  2. Naylor, D. (2003). Renewing of Public Health in Canada. Ottawa: Health Canada.
  3. Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). (2008, 04 03). Public Health Competency. Retrieved 02 10, 2010, from Public Health Agency of Canada: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ccph-cesp/links-liens-eng.php
  4. Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). (2001, 12 08). What is the Population Health Approach? Retrieved 03 04, 2010, from Public Health Agency of Canada: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ph-sp/approach-approche/index-eng.php.