Expanding the Concept of Public Health

Ancient societies recognized the needs of sanitation, food safety, workers’ health, and medical care to protect against disease and to promote well-being and civic prosperity. New energies and knowledge since the eighteenth century produced landmark discoveries such as prevention of scurvy and vaccination against smallpox. The biological germ theory and competing miasma theory each proved effective in sanitation, and immunization in control of infectious diseases. Non-communicable diseases as the leading causes of mortality have responded to innovative preventive care of health risk factors, smoking, hypertension, obesity, physical inactivity, unhealthful diets, and diabetes mellitus. Health promotion proved effective to modern public health in tackling disease origins, individual behavior, and social and economic conditions. The global burden of infectious and non-communicable diseases, aging and chronic illness faces rising costs and still inadequate prevention. The evolution of concepts of public health will have to address these new challenges of population health.