Paving the way for a public health renaissance
Public Health has been defined as “the provision of health care to groups of populations using public health strategies focusing on preventive aspects of health”. Hence, a Public Health Renaissance would mean a revival of sorts in the field of health care provision to the public from th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Department Of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2000
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/4369/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/4369/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/4369/1/Vol6%28K%29-Razali.pdf |
| Summary: | Public Health has been defined as “the provision of health care to groups of
populations using public health strategies focusing on preventive aspects of health”.
Hence, a Public Health Renaissance would mean a revival of sorts in the field of
health care provision to the public from the Public Health viewpoint.
In the first place, is there really a need for a Public Health Renaissance? Have
the public and/or powers-that-be been so disillusioned with the present state of affairs
as to warrant a revival of the whole domain of Public Health? Or is it just a term
coined up by a few "visionaries" for something that has been and is already taking
place within the domain realm? Are we not already in the midst of this so-called
"Renaissance"? And if we are, where are we, how far have we gone and in what
form is the "Renaissance" taking place?
Come to think of it, what does the process of undergoing a "Renaissance"
really entail? Does it essentially involve paradigm shifts and mindset changes of
individuals or is it a total revolutionary migration of visions and missions of whole
vast organisations and systems? Is it a slow, evolutionary process, allowed to
gradually unfold or is it a drastic all-or-nothing event? And does it refer to the "New
Public Health" that we have been talking about in recent times? |
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