INTRODUCTION TO
COMMUNITY AND
PUBLIC HEALTH
GABRIELLE PAUL S. PASCUAL, RMT
OBJECTIVES
To
appreciate health as a holistic, dynamic and
multidimensional state or condition
To define community health and public health
To
gain a deeper understanding of what a
community is
To describe factors which affect community health
WARM-UP:
#COMMUNITYANDPUBLIC HEALTH
1. Group discussion (15 minutes)
a. What is health in general?
b. What makes a person healthy?
c. How do we define communities?
d. What makes a community healthy?
e. What do I expect to learn from Community and Public Health?
2. Present your answers to these questions in the form of concise #hashtags.
Groups will be provided with cards to write on (1 card per question only)
3. All groups will present their cards in front of the class (strictly 5 minutes per
group only). After a group presents, they must post their cards on the space
provided.
DEFINING HEALTH
The word health is derived from “hal”, which means “hale,
sound, whole”
WHO, 1946: “Health is a complete state of physical,
mental and social well-being and not merely the absence
of disease and infirmity.”
DEFINING HEALTH
Further, the WHO added that “health is a resource for
everyday life, not the object of living, and is a positive
concept emphasizing social and personal resources as
well as physical capabilities.”
It is a dynamic state or condition that is multidimensional.
Health status is determined by five
domains:
1. Gestational endowments (i.e genetic makeup)
2. Social circumstances (e.g. education, employment,
income, poverty, housing, crime and social cohesion)
3. Environmental conditions (e.g. toxic agents, microbial
agents, and structural hazards)
4. Behavioral choices (e.g. diet, physical activity, substance
use and abuse)
5. Availability of quality medical care
WHAT IS PUBLIC HEALTH?
all organized measures (whether public or private) to
prevent disease, promote health, and prolong life
among the population as a whole.
Its activities aim to provide conditions in which people
can be healthy and focus on entire populations, not on
individual patients or diseases.
is concerned with the total system and not only the
eradication of a particular disease.
(WHO)
WHAT IS COMMUNITY HEALTH?
Physical, mental and social well-being of persons
within the same place
Health status of a defined group of people
the actions and conditions to promote, protect
and preserve their health
POPULATION HEALTH: health status of people who are not
organized and have no identity as a group or a locality
and the actions and conditions to promote, protect and
preserve their health
GLOBAL HEALTH: health problems, issues and concerns that
transcend national boundaries, may be influenced by
circumstances or experiences in other countries, and are
best addressed by cooperative actions and solutions.
WHAT IS A COMMUNITY?
“acollective body of individuals identified by
common characteristics such as geography,
interests, experiences, concerns or values.”
COMMUNITIES ARE CHARACTERIZED
BY THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS:
1. Membership: a sense of identity and belonging
2. Common symbol and systems: similar language,
rituals and ceremonies
3. Shared values and norms
COMMUNITIES ARE CHARACTERIZED
BY THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS:
4. Mutual influence: community members have
influence and are influenced by each other
5. Shared needs and commitments to meeting them
6. Shared emotional connection: members have
common history, experiences and mutual support
TAXONOMY
A. Externally defined communities
1. Geographical communities
2. Political communities
3. Workplace communities
4. Demographic communities
TAXONOMY
B. Membership communities
1. Mutual interest communities
2. Mutual assistance communities
3. Political groups
4. Social service communities
5. Advocacy communities
6. Fellowships
TAXONOMY
C. Personally defined communities
1. Lifestyle communities
2. Values communities
3. Opinion communities
FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE HEALTH
OF A COMMUNITY
1. Physical
a. Geography
b. Environment
c. Community size
d. Industrial development
FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE HEALTH
OF A COMMUNITY
2. Social and cultural factors
a. Beliefs, traditions and prejudices
b. Economy
c. Politics
d. Religion
e. Social norms
f. Socioeconomic status
FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE HEALTH
OF A COMMUNITY
3. Community organizing: ability of
community to identify local problems and
to mobilize resources to address these
problems
4. Individual behavior
