TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Public Health Practice in the United States A1 - Beck, Angela J. A1 - Kulik, Phoebe K. G. A2 - Boulton, Matthew L. A2 - Wallace, Robert B. PY - 2022 T2 - Maxcy-Rosenau-Last Public Health & Preventive Medicine, 16e AB - Public health is the science of protecting and improving the health of populations, from small, local communities to entire countries and even regions of the world. It focuses on “what we, as a society, do collectively to assure the conditions in which people can be healthy.”1 Public health is charged with preventing epidemics and the spread of disease; protecting against environmental hazards; preventing injuries; promoting healthy behaviors; responding to disasters and assisting communities in recovery; and assuring the quality and accessibility of health services.2 Core to public health’s mission of health promotion and disease prevention is addressing the social determinants of health—the conditions in the environments in which people live, work, and play that affect health outcomes and can disadvantage communities, often on the basis of characteristics including race, class, gender, wealth, and sexual orientation, among others.3 Unequal distribution of resources and power contribute to avoidable and unjust health inequities in populations.4 Public health works at multiple levels: through programs and policies that aim to address broader structural and systems factors that impact health; by implementing community interventions that focus on the social, behavioral, and environmental needs of specific populations; and through programs that help prompt individual behavior change that can improve health status. Public health practice refers to the implementation of programs and delivery of these services to improve the public’s health. This chapter summarizes:The history of public health practiceThe core functions and essential services of public healthThe cross-sector partnerships critical for effective public health practiceThe importance of evidence-based decision making in public healthThe distinction between public health practice and public health researchThe alignment of academia and public health practice SN - PB - McGraw Hill CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/28 UR - accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1182681742 ER -