Health in Society
Aantekeningen hoorcolleges
Lecture 1
The health of people is based on the health conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and
age, not the quality of the health care system. “A toxic combination of bad policies, economics and
politics is, in large measure, responsible for the fact that a majority of people in the world do not
enjoy the good health that is biologically possible.”
Clockwork model in medicine: Health is when the body operates efficiently, like a machine; the
absence of illness
But health is more than the absence of illness: “Health is state of complete, physical, mental and
social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” -World Health Organization
Positive health: Strengths that contributes to good health and protects against illness, with mental,
spiritual aspects, which contributes to daily functioning and social participation for a high quality of
life.
Public health:
- Health of populations rather than individuals
- Prevention approach rather than treatment
- Collective rather than personal interventions
Roots of public health
- Combatting infectious diseases
- Collective health measures throughout history (e.g. 19 th century UK public health reforms)
McKeown’s thesis: Improved living standards are more important than medical advances
WHO Healthy Cities approach:
- Physical and social environments
- Strong community; citizen participation
- Focus on such outcomes as number of trusting people; availability of community spaces
,New perspectives on public health
- Equity takes center stage (health for all)
- All-encompassing: all sectors and all policies should play their role in promoting health
- Importance of citizen participation and involvement
, Two main issues for research:
- Causes of, and contributors to, health
Individual, social, structural factors
Biology, behavior, support, environment, policy, economy
- Effectiveness of policies and interventions
Which approaches effectively influence underlying factors?
Individual, social, structural approaches to change
Lecture 2
Public health is a political process. “Medicine is a social science, and politics is nothing else but
medicine on a large scale.”
Examples of political decisions about public health: School admissions, student grants, housing
policies, social benefits, urban planning, excise tax
Multiple political issues:
- Population health
- Health system capacity
- Wellbeing/mental health
- Economic & cultural health
- National and international
Public health is more than a technical issue for professionals and experts.
Aantekeningen hoorcolleges
Lecture 1
The health of people is based on the health conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and
age, not the quality of the health care system. “A toxic combination of bad policies, economics and
politics is, in large measure, responsible for the fact that a majority of people in the world do not
enjoy the good health that is biologically possible.”
Clockwork model in medicine: Health is when the body operates efficiently, like a machine; the
absence of illness
But health is more than the absence of illness: “Health is state of complete, physical, mental and
social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” -World Health Organization
Positive health: Strengths that contributes to good health and protects against illness, with mental,
spiritual aspects, which contributes to daily functioning and social participation for a high quality of
life.
Public health:
- Health of populations rather than individuals
- Prevention approach rather than treatment
- Collective rather than personal interventions
Roots of public health
- Combatting infectious diseases
- Collective health measures throughout history (e.g. 19 th century UK public health reforms)
McKeown’s thesis: Improved living standards are more important than medical advances
WHO Healthy Cities approach:
- Physical and social environments
- Strong community; citizen participation
- Focus on such outcomes as number of trusting people; availability of community spaces
,New perspectives on public health
- Equity takes center stage (health for all)
- All-encompassing: all sectors and all policies should play their role in promoting health
- Importance of citizen participation and involvement
, Two main issues for research:
- Causes of, and contributors to, health
Individual, social, structural factors
Biology, behavior, support, environment, policy, economy
- Effectiveness of policies and interventions
Which approaches effectively influence underlying factors?
Individual, social, structural approaches to change
Lecture 2
Public health is a political process. “Medicine is a social science, and politics is nothing else but
medicine on a large scale.”
Examples of political decisions about public health: School admissions, student grants, housing
policies, social benefits, urban planning, excise tax
Multiple political issues:
- Population health
- Health system capacity
- Wellbeing/mental health
- Economic & cultural health
- National and international
Public health is more than a technical issue for professionals and experts.
