News tagged with public health
Hitting snooze on the molecular clock: Rabies evolves slower in hibernating bats
The rate at which the rabies virus evolves in bats may depend heavily upon the ecological traits of its hosts, according to researchers at the University of Georgia, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and ...
May 18, 2012 |
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Mercury in dolphins: Study compares toxin levels in captive and wild sea mammals
Amid growing concerns about the spread of harmful mercury in plants and animals, a new study by researchers from The Johns Hopkins University and The National Aquarium has compared levels of the chemical in ...
May 21, 2012 |
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US Earth observations, science and services are critical to society but are at risk
Earth observations, science, and services (Earth OSS) inform and guide the activities of virtually all economic sectors and innumerable institutions underlying modern civilization, according to a new study by the American ...
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 22, 2012 |
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Obama yields on smog rule in face of GOP demands (Update)
(AP) -- In a dramatic reversal, President Barack Obama on Friday scrubbed a clean-air regulation that aimed to reduce health-threatening smog, yielding to bitterly protesting businesses and congressional ...
Sep 02, 2011 |
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Researchers create dynamic view of city based on Foursquare check-in data
The millions of "check-ins" generated by foursquare, the location-based social networking site, can be used to create a dynamic view of a city's workings and character, Carnegie Mellon University researchers say. In contrast ...
May 01, 2012 |
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Study shows air emissions near fracking sites may impact health
In a new study, researchers from the Colorado School of Public Health have shown that air pollution caused by hydraulic fracturing or fracking may contribute to acute and chronic health problems for those living near natural ...
Mar 19, 2012 |
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The butterfly effect in nanotech medical diagnostics
Tiny metallic nanoparticles that shimmer in the light like the scales on a butterfly's wing are set to become the color-change components of a revolutionary new approach to point-of-care medical diagnostics, according to ...
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Feb 06, 2012 |
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How much is a Nobel worth? A lot more than the prize money
The prestigious Nobel science awards are worth far more than the $1.5 million prize money: they can pad a company's coffers with $24 million and even add two years to a laureate's life, experts say.
Oct 02, 2011 |
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From herd immunity and complacency to group panic: How vaccine scares unfold
Worries over vaccine risks can allow preventable contagious diseases, such as measles and whooping cough, to make a comeback. A new study, published in PLoS Computational Biology, shows how to predict ways in which popula ...
Apr 05, 2012 |
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Two-thirds of China's cities fail on air standards
(AP) -- Two-thirds of China's cities currently fail to meet stricter air quality standards that the government wants to phase in over four years to combat notoriously smoggy skies, a senior Chinese environmental ...
Mar 02, 2012 |
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Study establishes importance of tracking diseases associated with illegal wildlife trade
An article released today in PLoS ONE entitled, Zoonotic Viruses Associated with Illegally Imported Wildlife Products, from a collaborative study led by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), identified ev ...
Jan 10, 2012 |
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Yelp prices IPO at $15 a share as questions loom
(AP) -- Yelp is set to make its stock market debut Friday after pricing its initial public offering above its targeted range, a sign of strong investor demand for a slice of the 8-year-old online reviews site ...
Mar 01, 2012 |
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FDA limits some antibiotics in livestock
(AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday ordered farmers to limit the use of a type of antibiotics they give livestock because it could make people more resistant to a key antibiotic that can save lives, encouraging ...
Jan 04, 2012 |
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UN: Leaded fuel to be gone by 2013
(AP) -- Leaded gasoline, once so widespread it was sold at U.S. pumps as "regular" fuel, is expected to be eradicated globally within two years, the United Nations Environment Program announced Thursday.
Technology / Energy & Green Tech
Oct 28, 2011 |
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Sewage-tainted floodwaters threaten public health
(AP) -- Nasty floodwaters from the remnants of Lee and Irene - tainted with sewage and other toxins - threaten public health in parts of the Northeast by direct exposure or the contamination of private water ...
Sep 09, 2011 |
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Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals." (1920, C.E.A. Winslow)[citation needed] It is concerned with threats to the overall health of a community based on population health analysis. The population in question can be as small as a handful of people or as large as all the inhabitants of several continents (for instance, in the case of a pandemic). Public health is typically divided into epidemiology, biostatistics and health services. Environmental, social, behavioral, and occupational health are also important subfields.
There are 2 distinct characteristics of public health:
1. It deals with preventive rather than curative aspects of health 2. It deals with population-level, rather than individual-level health issues
The focus of public health intervention is to prevent rather than treat a disease through surveillance of cases and the promotion of healthy behaviors. In addition to these activities, in many cases treating a disease may be vital to preventing it in others, such as during an outbreak of an infectious disease. Hand washing, vaccination programs and distribution of condoms are examples of public health measures.
The goal of public health is to improve lives through the prevention and treatment of disease. The United Nations' World Health Organization defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."
For more information about Public health, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
