Definitions

Robin Michael

COH 401

May 19th, 2012

Professor Bednarchik

Health and wellness are central to the survival of not only individuals, but also the communities in which individuals live. Some aspects of health appear to focus primarily on the individual, such as the field of medicine. Others focus largely on the impact of heath and disease at the community level, such as public health. When considering an overall understanding of health, one must understand the relationships among five key concepts: public health, health promotion, health education, community health, and medicine. While each possesses a different definition and differs slightly in focus, they all work together to promote a healthy society.

Public health represents an interdisciplinary concept referring to the promotion of physical and mental health and the prevention of disease, injury, and disability (Woodside & McClam, 2011, p.109). Public health encompasses aspects of both medicine and human services. The diagnosis and treatment of illness through medicine are central to combating diseases that affect individuals and entire populations. However, public health also involves a social welfare aspect and is designed to improve education, nutrition, food and water supplies, and maternal and child health. In this sense, public health impacts both the individual and the community, although the focus is generally at the community level. This form of health views individuals problems as linked to social problems, the latter of which public health seeks to resolve (Woodside & McClam, 2011, p.110).

Turnock (2012) acknowledged the encompassing and far-reaching influence of public health. He viewed public health as a system and a social enterprise that included a variety of health professionals, the knowledge and techniques espoused by those individuals, government services including welfare, and the degree of health and wellness within a population. The overall goal of public health is to...