public health

Table of Contents

Introduction
History of public health
- Beginnings in antiquity
- The Middle Ages
- The Renaissance
- National developments in the 18th and 19th centuries
- Developments from 1875
Modern organizational and administrative patterns
- International organizations
- Developed countries
  - Patterns shared among developed countries
  - Variations among developed countries
- Developing countries
  - Patterns shared among less-developed countries
  - Variations among less-developed countries
  - Health problems and obstacles
  - Education of health personnel
Progress in public health
- Developed countries
  - Increasing interest of national governments
  - Changing concepts of preventable disease
  - Integration of preventive and medical care services
  - Provisions directed toward better mental health
  - Growing emphasis on health education
  - The biostatistical, epidemiological approach
  - Changes resulting from an aging population
  - Concern regarding the quality of the environment
- Less-developed countries
  - Infectious disease control
  - Malnutrition
  - Family health
  - Health personnel
  - Comprehensive community health services
  - National health planning

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images, Videos & Interactives

Kabul: Ministry of Public Health

Members of the World Health Organization

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Louis Pasteur and fermentation

Pasteurized milk

Ebola virus disease; hand washing

Basic reproduction number of select viral diseases

For Students

public health summary

Read Next

Hand washing. Healthcare worker washing hands in hospital sink under running water. contagious diseases wash hands, handwashing hygiene, virus, human health

17 Questions About Health and Wellness Answered

People wearing surgical masks (also called face mask or medical masks or safety masks) walk through the city center of Milan, Italy on Feb. 23, 2020. Coronavirus disease COVID-19 pandemic

How Do Face Masks Control the Spread of Disease?

Discover

Drinking water is poured into a glass.

Water Fluoridation: Just the Facts

Gutzon Borglum. Presidents. Sculpture. National park. George Washington. Thomas Jefferson. Theodore Roosevelt. Abraham Lincoln. Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota.

9 Memorials and Monuments in the United States

Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”

Illustration for Demystified "How Dangerous is Quicksand"

How Deadly Is Quicksand?

Dancers at a Cinco de Mayo festival at the Mission District, San Francisco, California. (Photo dated 2019.) holidays

Is Cinco de Mayo Mexico's Independence Day?

Poker game. Card game. Royal Flush in poker. Hearts suit gambling

Poker Hands Ranked

Portrait of a mountain gorilla at a short distance. gorilla close up portrait.The mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei)

Falling Stars: 10 of the Most Famous Endangered Species

public health: Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

Public health officials issue warning over possible measles exposure in Montreal • May 19, 2025, 2:43 AM ET (CBC)

Virtual nurse shows promise in promoting vaccinations • May 11, 2025, 1:57 AM ET (News-Medical)

Inside the Biggest U.S. Public Health Shakeup in Modern History • Apr. 27, 2025, 5:29 AM ET (Wall Street Journal)

Photos and Videos

Kabul: Ministry of Public Health

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Louis Pasteur and fermentation

Pasteurized milk

Ebola virus disease; hand washing

Basic reproduction number of select viral diseases

milk campaign notice

tracking COVID-19 in the sewers

See All Videos, Images and Interactives →

Topics

Public Health Emergency of International Concern World Asthma Day sanitation environmental health Breast Cancer Awareness Month World TB Day World Cancer Day World Heart Day World Malaria Day World AIDS Day economic planning election intelligence mass transit public administration physical culture crisis management foreign aid regulation infant and toddler health

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Benjamin Disraeli

Benjamin Disraeli

prime minister of United Kingdom

Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro

political leader of Cuba

Peter Piot

Belgian microbiologist

Paul Farmer

American anthropologist and epidemiologist

James Miranda Barry

Irish doctor

Chan, Margaret

Margaret Chan

Chinese civil servant

Cecil G. Sheps

Canadian-born physician, researcher, and educator

Sara Josephine Baker.

Sara Josephine Baker

American physician

David Satcher

David Satcher

American physician

Tedros Adhanom

Tedros Adhanom

Ethiopian biologist and public health official

Jim Yong Kim

Jim Yong Kim

American physician and anthropologist

Sheela Basrur

Canadian physician and government official

Nawal El Saadawi

Egyptian physician, psychiatrist, author, and feminist

Joycelyn Elders

Joycelyn Elders

American physician and government official

Florence Sabin, c. 1915.

Florence Rena Sabin

American anatomist

Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara

military ruler, Niger

John Howard

John Howard

British philanthropist and social reformer

Portrait of Colonel John Shaw Billings, M.D.

John Shaw Billings

American surgeon and librarian

1st Viscount Cross, detail of a portrait by Sir Hubert Von Herkomer, 1882; in the National Portrait Gallery, London

Richard Assheton Cross, 1st Viscount Cross

British statesman

Straus, Nathan

Nathan Straus

American businessman

List

Hand washing. Healthcare worker washing hands in hospital sink under running water. contagious diseases wash hands, handwashing hygiene, virus, human health

17 Questions About Health and Wellness Answered