STATUS OF PUBLIC HEALTH IN ENGLAND part 1

1.0 ABSTRACT

Public health refers to all organised measures (whether public or private) to prevent disease, promote health, and prolong life aiming the population as a whole. Its activities aim to provide conditions in which people can be healthy and focus on entire populations, not on individual patients or diseases.

The novel research and advances in public health in the last two decades have pertinently improved life expectancy of the entire populace. However, research has revealed the significant difference in the quality of lives of the poorer groups and life compare with those from better-off backgrounds.

Sanitation, aseptic techniques, vaccinations, the Welfare State, improved diets, screening, treatments and living and working conditions have led to greatly improved life expectancy across the population as a whole. In addition, increasing number of the population are living with complex co-morbidities.

Many premature deaths are caused by largely preventable diseases (such as heart, lung, liver disease, strokes and cancer), so current public health initiatives are focused on co-ordinated action to address these and wider health inequalities.

Public health activities in England are led by the government through the Department of Health and Public Health England, with local activities coordinated at local government level.

Public health is increasingly taking on an international focus with new and emerging challenges and threats such as antibiotic resistance infections, bioterrorism, dementia and global warming. Global