Comparison of Public and Community Health

Since 1878, the US Public Health System has been collecting information on infectious conditions for the purpose of early identification and control of massive outbreaks, including, when necessary, instituting quarantines

A Community health center can be defined as a center where high quality primary and preventive healthcare is provided regardless of the ability of the patient’s financial situation. There are some basic characteristics a community health center must possess to be fully functional. Some of which are:

AS we are all know public health deals with identifying and preventing the disease among the community . Public health refers to "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals." It is concerned with threats to health based on population health analysis. Some of the events that played a major role in the improvement of public health are immunization , flouridation of drinking water to prevent dental caries , family planning and so on .

In the early 1900’s medicine was making some steps closer into some great improvements for health and better understanding of the human body. Doctors with sufficient knowledge of the human body and cures for diseases and viruses were scarce. People were much more concerned with government and politics, than health and medicine, until one of the greatest and most grotesque lethal pandemics that’s struck the earth in human history. This pandemic the “Spanish Flu” spread so rapidly and had an extremely high mortality rate. This was caused by the close contact of humans and poor cleanliness and sanitation, and the host (virus) and the body taking harsh action

Community health is the process or characteristics that allow a community’s population and economy to survive. Community health is defined as the meeting of collective needs through identification of problems and

A major influence on health in a community is the availability of services and opportunities within the neighborhood. Public health can be further influenced by the social environments. Accessibility to health care along with education and employment opportunities are fundamental factors to be considered (Riegelman & Kirkwood, 2015). These elements create both advantages and disadvantages for those living within the neighborhood. If we want to improve public health outcomes, we must consider and evaluate these along with many other contributing factors.

Healthcare in early America was not based on scientific medicine and healthcare facilities were limited to “at home” care. The view of health care was focused on epidemics of acute infections related to poor food, water, housing and sanitation resulting limited to untrained physicians an d nurses that were inadequate to provide sustainable life saving care (Williams & Torrens, 2008). Since health care was limited to the home or charity, very little progress was made to on the prevention of diseases. During the early 1800’s towns like North Carolina had no way to combat the spread of diseases like small pox, therefore their only option was to introduce maritime quarantine that would later lay the groundwork for advances in control measures for epidemic diseases (Watson, 2013). These measures helped limit the spread of the disease but failed to address disease management. However the advancement of medical schools such as Harvard

Community health identifies common needs in the community and provides solutions for modifying behaviors for community members. According to Stanhope and Lancaster (2008, p. 347) the term community health is “the meeting of collective needs by identifying problems and managing behaviors within the community itself and between the community and the larger society.” According to Stanhope and Lancaster (2008) community health involves biological, emotional, and social aspects. The biological aspects are measured in terms of “ morbidity and mortality rates, life expectancy indexes, and risk factor profiles” (Stanhope & Lancaster, 3008, p. 345). Emotional aspects are measured in terms of mental health, while crime rates and levels of function define the social aspects (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2008). Community structure is defined in terms of services and resources available to the members,

Imagine living in a time where the life expectancy is 30 years old and the infant mortality rates are 95% lower than today’s times. By understanding what public health is and the important role it plays in society, then can we promote a better quality of life. The history of Public Health over time shows vast progression and evolution throughout the centuries and has had a tremendous impact on the health of the communities. We use the history of events that took place in Chicago between 1834 and 2014 as an example of the evolution of public health. The events that took place in Chicago tell a story of how public health activities and responses have changed over the past 180 years.

In the early 1800s, both in Europe and in the United States, physicians with formal medical training began to stress the idea that germs and social conditions might cause and spread disease, especially in cities. Many municipalities created "dispensaries" that dispensed medicines to the poor and offered free physician services. Epidemics of cholera, diphtheria, tuberculosis, and yellow fever, and concerns about sanitation and hygiene, led many city governments to create departments of health. New advances in studying bacteria were put to practical use as "germ theory" became the accepted cause for illness. It was in the face of epidemics and poor sanitation, government-sponsored public health, and healthcare that private healthcare began to systematically diverge.

The historical evolution of health promotion and disease prevention in the United States began in the eighteenth century. Back then Public health was limited to individual cities and it was focused on treating and protecting those in the cities from a disease that may have been brought in by travelers. The public health department would go around and inspect the ships and harbors in search of people who may be carrying a disease and they would quarantine them(Williams & Torren, 2008). Then in the nineteenth-century public health began to become more advanced. They discovered that poor sanitation was causing diseases. So they begin to focus on improving social and environmental conditions in the cities. These public health activities were mainly

Community care differs from the typical medical care. Medical care aims to manage diseases and or curing ailments. Community care aims to promote health and disease prevention. Improving well-being through allocated resources results in health promotion within the community. Disease prevention is often described in three levels. The levels are primary prevention activities, secondary prevention activities, and tertiary prevention activities. Primary prevention activities tries to prevent a problem before it occurs, such as immunizations. Secondary prevention activities is geared towards early detection. For example, screening for a sexually transmitted disease. Tertiary prevention activities tries to correct and prevent worsening of a disease.

In the community we can identify the effect of psychological, social, and behavioral factors on individual and population health, which include prevention, treatment and management of chronic disease, adjustment to illness, adherence to treatment regimens, and recovery promotion. Other areas that we can enforce or analyze health are from individual, the social group, and society by understanding the broad ecological model of health.

Community health is the third approach that viewed the stigmatised, non-western ideals and practices, as important as those of western beliefs and focuses mainly on the understanding of the behaviour of individuals in a broader spectrum of their cultures and values specific to their communities. The fourth and final regime of public health has been labeled the “New Public Health: A socio-ecological model.” This model developed in response to many limiting factors of community health. The specific problem would be that “in treating communities as self-

Public and community health both have a common goal which is to promote, preserve, and maintain health of individuals whether it is through entire population or group of individuals within a society. Personal health is universal term which is associated with an individual or a community that focus on health of individual(s). This paper discusses differences between public and community health along with its benefits and disadvantages. It also focuses on public health assessment as well as management of conflict by policy makers. Formation of public policy by using health assessments and finally, legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes and how it affects the community.