Content
Discussion
Population
Health
What
is population health?
Population
health aims to improve health inequalities among population groups
by examining and acting upon a broad range of factors and conditions
that determine health (Hamilton and Bhatti, 1996).
The
main interventions used by population health are societal-level
policies affecting the health of entire populations (e.g., increasing
tobacco taxes). The impact of these policies is monitored through
the use of large-scale data sets.
Unlike
health promotion, population health does not place as much emphasis
on strategies promoting individual and community level change, such
as education, organizational change and community mobilization.
Disease
Prevention
What
is disease prevention?
Disease
prevention is the branch of public health practice concerned with
the prevention of chronic diseases contributing to premature mortality
(e.g., heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes).
Most
public health texts refer to three levels of prevention.
 Primary
prevention – engaging in actions preventing the initial
occurrence of disorders or diseases by focusing on the risk factors
and risk conditions which are associated with, or cause increased
susceptibility to, specific diseases.
Secondary prevention
– stopping or slowing down the progress of a disease or disorder
as soon as possible before medical treatment is required.
Tertiary prevention
– reducing the occurrence of relapses of a chronic disease
or disorder.
Comparison
with Health Promotion
Health
promotion also focuses on the prevention of disease and
shares many of the same strategies as disease prevention.
However, health promotion has a number of features and values
that distinguish it from traditional disease prevention efforts.
These include:
focus
on assets and strengths as well as risk factors and conditions;
commitment to participatory
approaches that build the capacity of individuals and communities
to address their health concerns; and
greater focus on the
social, economic and environmental causes of health and illness.
Disease prevention initiatives, by contrast, focus mainly on
modifying the health behaviours of individuals.
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