Question

What are the key differences between the approach of medicine and the approach of public health to human disease?

Answer 1

Introduction:

Approach of medicine:

Complex diseases which includes diabetes, neurological disorders and cancer are from a combination of genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors, also development of new information for the treatment of such diseases requires a deep concern about the mechanisms underlying cell functions of human body.

Key points:

• Approach of medicine provides an integrative platform for studying the interactions and connection between the biological components of the cell using a holistic approach and generating explanations for the emergent systems properties.
• This helps in understanding biological processes of cells in health and disease states, gaining new components into what drives the appearance of the disease and finally identifying proteins and metabolites implicated in human disease.

Approach of public health:

In public health various theories helps us to develop an organized, systematic, and efficient approach to investigating health behaviors.

The key factors of four theories that are often used in public health interventions are

• The Health Belief Model
• The Transtheoretical Model and stages of change
• Social Cognitive Theory
• The Social Ecological Model.

Public health approach is used to treat an impact of an infectious disease. It implies that policy makers should search for a 'cure' by using scientific evidence to dictate what causes the disease and find interventions that work to prevent it spreading.

Summary:

The greatest difference between the two fields lies in their respective focuses

• Public health focuses on the process of preventing infectious diseases, while community health deals with the overall contributors to a population's physical and mental health by diagnosis,prevention and treatment of individuals.