Public health is an extensive and dynamic field that captures all organized measures, both public and private, for preventing disease, promoting health, and prolonging life among the population as a whole. Therefore, it is necessary to look deeper into the available research and exploration of public health to reveal unique perspectives on the role, scope, and functioning of public health. Public health initiatives tend to promote free and open information to facilitate effective decision-making based on evidence and protect persons from being harmed by other groups and individuals, facilitating societal actions for promoting and protecting the population’s health.
In their article, Rothstein (2002) explores the available alternative definitions of public health that capture a broad spectrum of efforts and measures aimed at improving the well-being of the population. These measures tend to include a comprehensive set of actions, including political, economic, and social issues, as a way for discovering the root causes of illness and disease and the impact of environmental factors (Rothstein, 2002). These considerations also seem to help make the concerns more objective and the remediation more achievable. Frieden’s (2014) perspective on public health is much narrower and is rather focused on governmental efforts. For example, the government has been engaging in campaigns to prevent smoking among the population (Frieden, 2014). Warnings put on packs of cigarettes include clear information about the adverse effects of tobacco use, thus possibly deterring some individuals from smoking.
Another example is restaurant grading which clearly shows the adherence of a public food institution to the healthcare standards of cleanliness. For instance, Grade A means that a restaurant is completely clean, up to code, and has no violations, while Grace C means that a restaurant is a public risk and could be closed shortly. Government institutions engage in the grading of restaurants as a way to further the considerations of public health.
Taking into account the broad and narrow definitions of public health, it is necessary to consider the changes necessary in the role, scope, and functioning of public health for meeting the existing demands on public health. Changes in the health system correlate with the factors that encourage new roles in public health agencies, with the increased focus placed on public health and primary care (Frieden, 2013). Besides, it is needed to conduct a more in-depth examination of foundational services and new strategies for delivering public health services more effectively and efficiently without significant expenses. One such example includes the need to enhance cross-jurisdictional sharing that can vary from the support of informal collaborations to sharing the defined services and laboratory testing to formal structural changes such as consolidating public health agencies.
These changes can be achieved with the help of strengthening an evidence base for the effective interventions of the community for effective organization, administration, and financing of public health services, which are critical to the future development of the public health infrastructure. Importantly, it is necessary to implement public health services and systems in terms of research, especially when it comes to the development of the base of evidence. Therefore, the changes in the functioning of public health must align with relevant research on best practices. More effective and comprehensive actions of the government are more likely to produce effective interventions in public health.
References
Frieden, T. R. (2013). Government’s role in protecting health and safety. The New England Journal of Medicine, 368(20), 1857-1859.
Rothstein, M. A. (2002). Rethinking the meaning of public health. The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 30, 144-149.