Concepts of community

medicine:

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Definition

• The specialty which deals with population.

• Comprises those doctors who try to

measure the needs of sick and healthy.

• Who plan and administer the services to

meet the needs.

• Who are engaged in research & teaching

in the field.

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Community Medicine

• Successor of the terms ----

--Hygiene

--Public Health

--Preventive Medicine

--Social Medicine

--Community Health(1992)

All share common ground i.e., prevention of

diseases & promotion of Health

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Hygiene

• Greek word “Hygeia” Goddess of health

• Hygeia represents woman holding bowl in

hand & Serpent drinking from bowl.

• Serpent testifies the art of healing.

• Term hygiene was first used by “Galen”.

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Public health:

• Winslow defined as “The science and art

of preventing disease, prolonging life and

promoting health through organized

community efforts”.

• Efforts are -control of infection.

-Sanitation.

-Health education.

-Provision of health care service.9

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Public Health (By Winslow in 1920)

• Deals with maintenance & improvement

of sanitation, cleanliness and personal

hygiene.

• Largely matter of sanitation- like proper

disposal of waste, provision of safe water,

safe food, and over-all safe environment.

Pioneers in public health ---

• James Lind -control trial for scurvy.

• Edward Jenner -small pox vaccination.

• CEA Winslow -defined public Health.

• William Budd -investigated infectious

diseases.

• Robert Koch-under standing of cause

/epidemiology

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Pioneers in public health

“Edwin Chadwick”

-anti filth crusade

-great sanitary awakening

-Public Health Act (1848)

“John Snow”

Cause of Cholera out breaks.

“Louis Pasteur”

Germ theory of Disease(1873)

Preventive medicine.

• “Art and science of health promotion and

disease prevention”

• By definition preventive medicine is

applied to “healthy” people.

• Its primary objective is prevention of

diseases and promotion of health.

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Preventive Medicine

• Prevention is linked with James Lind &

Edward Jenner.

• Leavell & Clark defined general measures

of health promotion.

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Preventive measures:

• Vaccination.

• Nutritional supplement.

• Disinfection.

• Insecticide treatment.

• Antibiotics.

• Screening of diseases.

• Control of social factors.

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Social Medicine

• Defined as “The study of man in his social

environment and study of social factors

affecting health and disease”.

• Jules Guerin –first used this term and,

importance of social factors in the etiology

of disease was stressed.

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Community Medicine

• Branch of medicine which deals with the

preventive, promotive & curative services.

through organized community efforts.

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Community medicine

• MCI in1992 recommended this term.

• Based on the principle…

“prevention is better than cure”

• Prevention is also…..

-simpler than cure

-safer than cure

-cheaper than cure

-easier than cure

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Community Medicine

• With advent of epidemiology “P S M” was

replaced by “Community Medicine”

• Defined as Study of health & diseases in

the population of defined community.

• Aim is to Achieve “Health For All”

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“J M Last” defined Community

Medicine with Goals…

• Study of health & diseases in population of a defined community.

• Goals are…..

- To identify health problems & needs.

(Community Diagnosis)

- To plan & implement measures.

(community health care/ services)

- To evaluate extent of effectiveness.

( health care evaluation)

• Ultimate goal of community medicine is -

-to prevent the disease.

-to promote the health.

-to prolong the life.

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Ultimate goal of CM:

Branches of Community medicine :

• Epidemiology

• Environmental health

• Rural /Urban health

• Communicable diseases

• Non-communicable diseases.

• Vital statistics

• Occupational health

• Health planning & management…

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