565740 research-article2015

APHXXX10.1177/1010539514565740Asia-Pacific Journal of Public HealthBinns and Low

Editorial

What Is Public Health?

Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health 2015, Vol. 27(1) 5­–6 © 2015 APJPH Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1010539514565740 aph.sagepub.com

Colin Binns, MBBS, MPH, PhD1 and Wah-Yun Low, MSc, PhD2

At the time of the formation of the World Health Organization in 1946, one of its first achievements was to create a brilliant new definition of health: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”1 This definition has lasted 7 decades without modification as it reflects the multidimensional nature of health. If it has a fault, it lies in its idealism; a “complete state of health” will not achievable on our planet in the foreseeable future. The mission of public health is therefore to achieve an equitable distribution of health for the total population. Specific definitions of public health include the following: The American Public Health Association states “Public health promotes and protects the health of people and the communities where they live, learn, work and play.”2 The Public Health Association of Australia discusses its role in the following way: “Public health includes, but goes beyond the treatment of individuals to encompass health promotion, prevention of disease and disability, recovery and rehabilitation, and disability support.” This framework, together with attention to the social, economic and environmental determinants of health, provides particular relevance to, and expertly informs the Association’s role.3 The Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health (APACPH) has a vision to achieve the highest possible level of health of all the people of the nations of the AsiaPacific region. The Mission of the Consortium is to enhance Regional capacity to improve the quality of life and to address major public health challenges through the delivery of education, research and population health services by member institutions.”4

The common theme of all discussions of public health is that it deals with the health of populations, in contrast to our clinical colleagues who in the first instance are concerned with restoring, maintaining and improving the health of an individual. Public health seeks to improve the health of the whole community with an emphasis on protection, prevention of disease, and promotion of well-being. The key themes in the concept are populations, prevention, and equity. The basic skill for all involved in public health is a thorough understanding of the principles of epidemiology which provides tools to understand disease patterns, risk factors, and the outcomes of prevention and treatment activities. These skills are particularly relevant to the equitable distribution of scarce health resources. The principles that are fundamental to schools of public health are science, education, and compassion. These principles are expanded in the values of APACPH. To improve health public 1Curtin

University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2University

Corresponding Author: Colin Binns, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, GPO Box U 1987, Perth, Western Australia, Australia. Email: [email protected]

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Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health 27(1)

health interventions must be based on good science and hence this journal’s emphasis on good epidemiology and statistical analysis. The APACPH values of quality, “effectiveness and efficiency,” and “evidence-based medicine” reflect how we value good science. All good science builds on previous science and the APJPH plays an important role in publicizing public health science within our region. Public health also has a core value of education of health professionals and populations, and for the latter the disciplines of health promotion and health literacy are central to schools of public health. APACPH reflects this theme in its values of “learning and knowledge development,” “partnership and networking,” and “capacity building and leadership development.” Finally, we must add compassion to our core values. Public health involves people and as an important member of the caring professions public health workers. APACPH champions the values of “respect for diversity,” “equity,” “ethics,” and “collegiality.”4 Public health works to monitor disease outbreaks, both acute and chronic, to prevent injuries and to understand the distribution of risk factors in our communities. By its very nature public health is global health as epidemics of disease, whether acute or chronic are no respecter of borders. Those working in public health are expected to promote laws that protect health and the promotion of smoking controls and the use of seatbelts and helmets are important examples in our region. They must also be aware of global problems as the relatively recent problems of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), HIV, and Ebola have shown us. This issue of the journal is dedicated to the memory of the life of Professor Walter Patrick, the late Secretary General of APACPH and his work. Walter believed in the science of public health, he was passionate about the importance of the education of professionals and he always showed his compassionate personality. In answer to our question “What is public health?” Walter Patrick was public health in person. He particularly advocated for community-based field education to ensure that all public health students understood the need for health equity in all regions of the country.5 He will be greatly missed by all his colleagues and in this issue his colleagues pay tribute to him by remembering his work and facets of public health that he was interested in. As a further tribute, we include several articles from his home country of Sri Lanka. References 1. World Health Organization. Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization as adopted by the International Health Conference, New York, 19-22 June, 1946; signed on 22 July 1946 by the representatives of 61 States (Official Records of the World Health Organization, no. 2, p. 100) and entered into force on 7 April 1948. Geneva, Switzarland: World Health Organization; 1946. 2. American Public Health Association. What is public health? https://www.apha.org/what-is-publichealth. Accessed November 25, 2014. 3. Public Health Association of Australia. Public health. http://www.phaa.net.au/aboutUs.php. Accessed November 25, 2014. 4. Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health. Vision and mission. http://www.apacph.org/wp/ about/vision-and-mission/. Accessed November 25, 2014. 5. Patrick WK, Cadman EC. Changing emphases in public health and medical education in health care reform. Asia-Pac J Public Health. 2002;14:35-39.

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What is public health?

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