Preview

Describe the origins of public health in the UK from the 19th Century to the present day

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3187 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Describe the origins of public health in the UK from the 19th Century to the present day
Describe the origins of public health in the UK from the 19th Century to the present day
In this assignment I am going to describe the origins of public health in the UK from the 19th century to the present day. I am also going to compare historical and current features of public health.

Public health is the measures taken by the government to prevent ill health and disease. The government monitor health so that they can develop different programmes and legislation to improve the health and well being of the people in the country. They do this by attempting to solve inequalities, so that all people not matter what are able to live a healthy life. There are eight policies to improve today's public health, these are; planning for health emergencies (this is making sure that health services are prepared for emergencies such as accidents, outbreaks of disease and terrorist attacks), helping more people to survive cancer (by attempting to reduce the cancer death rate by 5000), reducing smoking (by reducing smoking rates - 18.5% for adults, 12% for 15 year olds, and 11% for pregnant women), giving all children a healthy start in life (by improving maternity care and introducing the Healthy Child Programme, which is available to all families), reducing obesity and improving diet (by introducing the Change for Life programme, and ensuring that food packaging has clear nutritional information), reducing harmful drinking (again by introducing the Change for Life programme, and by providing £448 million to improve the lives of the 120,000 most troubled families), reducing drugs misuse and dependence (by providing support and information on drugs (I.e. FRANK), and supporting children in there first five years of their lives, to prevent drug use further on in their lives), and Creating a lasting legacy from the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games (by promoting sports and healthy living). (https://www.gov.uk/government/policies?topics%5B%5D=public-health, Gov.uk, Policies).

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Public Health Assignment

    • 2163 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Public health (PH) is an issue continually on the UK Government agenda and one in which it is anticipated that all health professionals will participate in (Nuttall, 2008). PH focuses on the health and well-being of a society and is the most effective means of protecting and improving it. It addresses the root causes of illness and disease, including the interacting social environmental, biological, and psychological dimensions, as well as the provision of effective health services. PH relies on evidence, judgement and skills and promotes the participation of the populations who are themselves the subject of policy and action (United Kingdom Public Health Association (UKPHA), 2008).…

    • 2163 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Look over the definitions of public health in this week’s reading and describe its main features. In your opinion, what two features have had the greatest impact on improving health status and quality of life throughout history? Explain why you selected these features and provide examples to support your opinion.…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    HCS 457 Week 1 DQ's

    • 650 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The main goal of public or community health is concentrated on inhibiting disease, extending life, and promoting health by means of organized community exertions. Public health safeguards health as disasters occur, inhibits disease from addictions, contains sexually transmitted diseases, puts up an organization in charge of maintaining the community's food and water safety, and environmental hazards. Government agencies are concerned with reporting diseases and inspecting food and water safety as they play a significant role in public or community health.…

    • 650 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In addition, the introduction of the formalised National Health…

    • 1368 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    1750-1900 Public Health

    • 1751 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Government efforts to improve sanitation and hygiene reinforced the concept "public health" . By 1900, 40 of the 45 counties in the U.K. had established hospitals and health departments. From 1930s through to the 1950s, county and local health departments made substantial progress in disease prevention activities, including sewage disposal, water treatment, food safety, organised solid waste disposal, and public education about hygienic practices. Chlorination and other treatments for drinking water began in the early 1900s and became widespread public health practices thus further decreasing the incidence of waterborne diseases. The Public Health Act, 1875 - Parliament began passing more legislation on public health.…

    • 1751 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The key aspects of health in the UK today are monitoring health status, identifying health needs, developing programmes to reduce risk/screen for disease early on, controlling disease, and promoting health, planning and evaluating health provision.…

    • 673 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Everyone deserves the right to keep the body and the mind in good condition, maintaining physical and mental well-being with the absence of illnesses, injuries, or impairments; these are the characteristics of good health. (" Health", 2012). The government takes at heart the responsibility for everyone to have good health and is committed to health promotion and disease prevention. The primary means is the availability of local, state, and national public health resources to empower everyone to take control of their health and to increase awareness of illness prevention. The history of public health and the significant events of some of the health agencies whether local, state, or national will give a clear understanding of the functions, commitment, and services of the public health organizations toward every citizen of this nation.…

    • 928 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this assignment the author is going to be explaining what public health is and describing the key aspects of public health strategies. P1 Public health is all about preventing disease and prolonging life through the use of promotions of services which are provided by the government to ensure the publics health. The NHS is an example of a service which is provided for the public for their health by the government. The official definition of public health is ‘the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through the organised efforts of society’ BTEC National Health and Social Care, Book 2, Stretch, B, Whitehouse, B, page115 Most individuals see public health being about disease and illness free but public health covers a wider range then just physical. Public health covers physiological aspects of us in our minds i.e. mental health and social whether or not we can ingrate with others, physical if we are absence of illness and disease and if our body’s mechanisms are functioning correctly. Public health is constantly monitored for patterns and trends in illness and disease which allows society as a whole (nationally) or locally to try decreasing the negative patterns and trends through putting strategies into place examples of theses are; nationally a none smoking day and locally Leeds tobacco stratergy. Public health is measured in statistics which allows us to monitor the public’s health to either increase or decrease current issues shown through statistics. Statistics are taken and put together from several sources from GP’s, Sales and Referrals etc statistics are not necessarily accurate due to issues like over reporting or under reporting illness etc. When strategies are put into place they may vary from place to place due to that locality and there areas public health needs, strategies are put into place nationally which means it is a nation health strategies for the whole of England and locally which will be…

    • 1210 Words
    • 35 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    P01 Assignment

    • 2821 Words
    • 12 Pages

    HM Government (2010) Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Our strategy for public health in England. London: Department of Health…

    • 2821 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Public Health P5

    • 1564 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The main aims of public health are to improve the health of the nation, this has many benefits as it reduces the amount of illness and disease in the population, reduces the cost of healthcare provision to the NHS, it improves life expectancy, and also educates individuals to take responsibility for their health. Another aim of public health is to reduce health inequalities, this is done by targeting those who are vulnerable and ensuring that equal/improved access to health support is provided, and also that factors that affect health are identified and addressed.…

    • 1564 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    New Public Health Measures

    • 2359 Words
    • 10 Pages

    In brief, the new public health has come about because of growing interest in the subtle interaction of the environment with people living in affluent societies. The old public health remains the public health that most of the world needs, quite frankly, because communicable disease, malnutrition and other scourges are still the major killers worldwide. These are more or less the same as those that led people in the fifteenth century to look at how things such as the plague and cholera could be controlled through sanitation, clean water and quarantine.…

    • 2359 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    At the end of the nineteenth century, Britain, followed by its white colonies and the USA, took it up as a health measure for infants and young boys (“Introduction”).…

    • 2369 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Language Eassy

    • 1069 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Ewles. L.(2005) Ed. Key topics in public health: essential briefings on prevention and health promotion. pub. Elsevier Churchill Livingstone. UK…

    • 1069 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1887: Public Health Department Set up to improve public health (so as to bot affect trade)…

    • 685 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays