Introduction
Public health is a discipline focused on learning how to improve the population’s well-being by providing a better state of health. Research on this subject at universities is necessary due to the need of the state to improve the system of preserving the nation’s health. Thus, it is essential to study the history of this direction and its main functions to understand how important the subject of discussion is.
Public Health History
In the history of public health, one of the most important periods of development was the moment of the discovery of the germ theory of disease. This theory was first developed and fully developed in the middle of the 19th century by Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch (Cavaillon & Legout, 2022). They argued that microorganisms might be the primary cause of infectious diseases. This contributed greatly to the development of public health since, up to this point, the occurrence of diseases was often attributed to supernatural coincidences or miasmas.
Scientists’ discovery of this aspect has significantly influenced the everyday life of all people in the past and present. One example is the further invention of vaccines and antibiotics, which helped prevent the spread of many dangerous diseases. In addition, the development of the theory has led to the fact that the sanitary and epidemiological situation has improved significantly due to understanding the sources of diseases and improved means of controlling them. In my local community, such practices introduced due to understanding germ theory have helped stop the coronavirus pandemic.
Public Health Core Functions and 10 Essential Services
The three main functions of public health are assessing the situation, developing appropriate policies, and supporting the implementation of protection. Each of them is a different element to study, as understanding the mechanisms of action at all three stages allows one to resist the spread of diseases better (Capolongo et al., 2020). These features help shape the core values of public health by focusing the attention of professionals on the importance of evidence. In addition, the functions helped to realize the importance of preventive means of combating diseases.
For me, policymaking is the most intriguing and important function in public health. It is the most necessary function because it plays a key role in deciding a specific disease problem. In addition, this stage interests me as it includes the process of working with stakeholders, processing their opinions and needs, and analyzing the collected information for further processing (Brouwer et al., 2019). In addition, this function is the main one because it will include such an important element as the promotion and propaganda of policy, which is necessary for its successful implementation.
For the policy development function, some services directly affect this element of public health. First, an essential competency for this function is to research the best way to resist the disease (Blake et al., 2020). Secondly, the component of the implementation of the developed policy is essential since the overall success of preventive control measures will depend on this. In addition, a necessary element is promoting sanitary prevention of the disease as a service to promote the policy of preventive measures.
Conclusion
The history of public health is a necessary discipline to study, as it greatly influences the well-being of the population and the country’s general state as a result. Thus, it is imperative to distinguish between the most important moments in its history, such as the development of germ theory and its impact on modern times. Key public health functions have been used throughout history to prevent the spread of disease. In addition, raising public awareness of public health functions is a useful aspect.
References
Blake, H., Bermingham, F., Johnson, G., & Tabner, A. (2020). Mitigating the psychological impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers: A digital learning package. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(9), 2997. Web.
Brouwer, W., van Baal, P., van Exel, J., & Versteegh, M. (2019). When is it too expensive? Cost-effectiveness thresholds and health care decision-making. The European Journal of Health Economics, 20, 175-180. Web.
Capolongo, S., Rebecchi, A., Buffoli, M., Appolloni, L., Signorelli, C., Fara, G. M., & D’Alessandro, D. (2020). COVID-19 and cities: From urban health strategies to the pandemic challenge. A decalogue of public health opportunities. Acta Bio Medica: Atenei Parmensis, 91(2), 13. Web.
Cavaillon, J. M., & Legout, S. (2022). Louis Pasteur: Between myth and reality. Biomolecules, 12(4), 596. Web.