What is Public Health?

Public health is about improving and protecting the health of groups of people, rather than about treating individual patients. The UK's Faculty of Public Health offers the following definition:

"The science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health throughthe organised efforts of society." (Sir Donald Acheson)

The Faculty defines nine key areas of Public Health practice:

• Surveillance and assessment of the population's health and wellbeing
  Assessing the evidence of effectiveness of health and healthcare interventions
  Policy and strategy development and implementation
  Strategic leadership and collaborative working for health
  Health improvement
  Health protection
  Health and Social Service quality
  Public Health Intelligence
  Academic Public Health

Source: The Faculty of Public Health