BMJ 1998;317:584-586 ( 29 August )

Clinical review

Recent advances

Public health

Editorials byAlderslade, Palmer Education and debate pp   587 , 592 , 596

Gabriel Scally, regional director of public health. 

NHS Executive South and West, Bristol BS12 6SR

gscally@dohgov.uk

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Identifying particular advances in public health is difficult because, in the final analysis, success can be judged only by improvement in the health of a population. Progress is rarely, if ever, a matter of developing a technical intervention and applying it. Population health is determined by a complex mixture of genetic, environmental, and social factors, as well as individual behaviour. Achieving progress not only relies on altering a complex situation but is often something that can be judged only over a period of years (or decades) rather than months. Clearer understanding of the determinants of health and ill health, better control of hazards to health, and earlier detection or improved treatment of established disease are the building blocks of gains in public health. In keeping with the broadening scope of public health practice, the skill base of the workforce is developing beyond medicine, particularly in the applied social sciences.

	Methods

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