Introduction to Public Health

Semester and Year Offered: I Semester

Course Coordinator and Team:N. Nakkeeran

Email of course coordinator:nakkeeran[at]aud[dot]ac[dot]in

Pre-requisites:None

Aim:

• To introduce the field of public health, its scope, its diverse meanings, key concepts and agencies of public health practice.
• To critically discuss its constituent and associated disciplines / sub-disciplines and its interdisciplinary nature.
• To explore into history of public health along with history of associated fields/disciplines such as sanitation and epidemiology.
• To explore the evolution of public health in India and the underlying influences that shaped its trajectory
• To engage with the ethical, political and philosophical foundation of public health

Course Outcomes:On completion of this course students are expected to

• Gain knowledge on the field of public health, its scope, its diverse meanings and key concepts
• Appreciate the interdisciplinary nature of the of public health
• Relate the field of public health to its constituent and associated disciplines and sub-disciplines
• Gain a critical understanding on history of public health, with special reference to India, Europe, the US and Latin America.
• Develop a critical understanding on the ethical, political and philosophical foundation of public health
• Develop receptivity to explore and engage with diverse public health perspectives
• Competence to understand and appreciate the importance of population level orientation of public health

Brief description of modules/ Main modules:

This is seen as a course to introduce the field of public health: its diverse meanings; its constituent and associated disciplines and sub-disciplines, its interdisciplinary nature; ethical, political and philosophical foundation of public health; history of public health including important personalities and scientific and conceptual developments in public health; brief history in associated fields like epidemiology; agencies of public health practice; key concepts in public health. Wherever possible, case studies from India and elsewhere will be drawn to elucidate.The course will also critically engage with diverse perspectives in public health to appreciate the strengths and limitations of these approaches. Evolution of public health in India and the underlying influences that shaped its trajectory will also form a part of this course.

The course will be transacted in about four modules as explained below:

Module 1: Public health: its scope, diverse meanings, key concepts and agencies of public health practice

To introduce the field of public health, its scope, its diverse meanings, key concepts and agencies of public health practice. It will include critical discussion on ‘Public health approach’, ‘functions of public health’, ‘dimensions of public health’ and core areas of public health. It will highlight the distinctions between public health on the one hand and medical care and health care on the other.

Module 2: Public health and its associated fields

To critically discuss public health’s constituent and associated disciplines / sub-disciplines and its interdisciplinary nature; interphase and divergence between Public health, medicine and epidemiology; public health and its interaction social sciences, management; introduction to health system & policy, financing of health services and economics of health services; interrelationships between public health and sanitation, water, environment, occupation, nutrition and food security.

Module 3: History of public health

To explore into history of public health along with history of associated fields/disciplines such as sanitation and epidemiology; history of public health: scientific and conceptual developments, important personalities; historical trends in mortality decline, medical innovations, and debates on role of medicine vis-à-vis socio-economic development; evolution of competing systems of medicine and the dominant emergence of allopath system; evolution of public health in India and underlying influences that shaped its trajectory; illustrations from others parts of the world: Europe, the US, Latin America

Module 4: Ethical, political & philosophical foundation of public health

To engage with the ethical, political and philosophical foundation of public health from the points of view of method, content and attitude; philosophical contributions and related critiques around documents such as Bhore Committee report, Leeds declaration – 1993 and Lalaonde Report; political foundation of public health – state, citizens, rights, public goods; develop receptivity to explore and engage with diverse public health perspectives

Assessment Details with weights:

• A written assignment on any theme on public health (40%)
• Review of an article (20%)
• Notes from field observation (10%)
• End term exam or class test (30%)

Reading List:

Module 1

• Carr, S., Unwin, N., &Pless-Mulloli, T. (2007). An Introduction to Public health and epidemiology, (Chapter 7:83-96) New York: OUP.
• Colgrove, J. (2002) “The McKeown thesis: A historical controversy and its enduring influence”, American Journal of Public Health, 92, 5, pp. 725-729.
• Evans, MW., Basic Concepts in Public Health (Chapter 2) in Introduction to Public Health for Chiropractors, Jones and Bartlett, pp 35-47.
• Gilson, L., “Health Systems”, in Lucy Gilson (ed.) Health policy and systems research: A methodological reader, Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, WHO, 2012;23-6
• John, J., Shah NK., “Universal health care and nationwide public health: Tale of two declarations from one city”, Indian Journal of Medical Research, 134, Sep 2011, p.250-52
• Marmot, M., (2005) “Social determinants of health inequalities”, Lancet; 365: 1099–104
• McKinlay, JB., and Marceau, LD, “To boldly go”, American Journal of Public Health, January 2000, Vol. 90, No. 1:25-33
• Tulchinsky, T.H., and Varavikova, E.A., “What is the ‘New Public Health’?”, Public Health Reviews, Vol. 32, No 1, 25-53
• World Health Organisation, “Chapter one: Why do health systems matter?” The World Health Report 2000: Health Systems: Improving Performance, 2000;1-19.

Module 2

• Bartram, S., Cairncross, S., Hygiene, Sanitation, and Water: Forgotten Foundations of Health, PLoS Medicine, November 2010: 7(11) e1000367; pp 1-9
• Doyal, L, The Political Economy of Health, London, Pluto Press. 1979
• Government of India, Report of the Health Survey and Development Committee (Bhore Committee) Vol.2. Manager of Publications, 1946 (Selected chapters)
• Lalonde, M., A New Perspectives on the health of Canadians: A Working Document, Ministry of Supply and Service Canada, 1981
• Long, A., “Directions for Health: Leeds Declaration”, Radical Statistics, 1994: 57(Summer):39-42
• Navaro, V., “Neoliberalism and its Consequences: The World Health Situation Since Alma Ata”, Global Social Policy 1984, 8(2): 152-55
• Pearce, N.,” Traditional Epidemiology, Modern Epidemiology, and Public Health”, American Journal of Public Health, May 1996, Vol. 86, No.5:678-83
• Pinter, L., Rootman, I., “Milestones in Health: A prelude to health for all”, World Health Forum, 1998, Vol.19:235-38
• Qadeer, I., “Health Care Systems in Transition III: India, Part I: The Indian Experience”, The Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2000, 22(1):25-32
• Wing, S., “Whose Epidemiology, Whose Health?” International Journal of Health Services, 1998, Vol. 28, No. 2 (1998), pp. 241-252
• Zurbrigg, Sheila, Rakku's Story: Structures of Ill Health and Sources of Change. Madras, George Joseph, 1984

Module 3

• Batliwala, S. The Historical Development of Health Services in India. Bombay, FRCH, 1976
• Clark, FC., A Brief History of Antiseptic Surgery, Medical Library and Historical Journal 5(3): September, 1907, 145-72
• Cueto, M., History of Public Health in Latin America https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190632366.013.20 (Printed from Oxford Research Encyclopedias, Global Public Health) Published online: 25 February 2019.
• Dasgupta, M., Public Health in India: Dangerous Neglect, Economic and Political Weekly December 3, 2005: 5159-65
• Gaynes, R., “The Discovery of Penicillin—New Insights after More Than 75 Years of Clinical Use”, Emerging Infectious Diseases 23 (5): May 2017:849-53
• Harrison, M., and Pati, Biswamoy, (2009) “Social history of health and medicine: Colonial India”, in BiswamoyPati and Mark Harrison (eds.) The Social History of Health and Medicine in Colonial India, Routledge: London, 1-14.
• Porter, D., The History of Public Health: Current Themes and Approaches , in The History of Public Health, pp.9-21
• Prasad, V., “The Technology of Sanitation in Colonial Delhi” Modern Asian Studies, Feb., 2001, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Feb., 2001), pp. 113-155 (http://www.jstor.com/stable/313090)
• Qadeer, I., “Health Planning in India: Some Lessons from the Past” Social Scientist , May - Jun., 2008, Vol. 36, No. 5/6 (May - Jun., 2008), pp. 51-75
• Riedel, S., “Edward Jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination”, BUMC Proceedings 2005; 18: 21–25
• Rosenberg, CE., The cholera years the United States in 1832, 1849, and 1866, Chicago and London The University Of Chicago Press, (1962) 1987, https://web.stanford.edu/dept/HPS/154/May13RosenbergP1to98.pdf
• Rosenfeld, B., “History of Statistics 1: The Bills of Mortality, and the Beginning of Statistics. John Graunt (1620 –1674)”, Vermont Mathematics Initiative
• Rosenkrantz, BG., “George Rosen, Historian of the Field” American Journal of Public Health, February 1979, Vol. 69, No. 2: 165-68
• Smillie, WG., “Annotations: A History of Public Health”, The Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly, 1959 (37/1): 87-89, https://www.milbank.org/wp-content/uploads/mq/volume-37/issue-01/37-1-A-History-of-Public-Health-by-George-Rosen.pdf
• Szreter, S., “The Population Health Approach in Historical Perspective”, American Journal of Public Health, March 2003, Vol 93, No. 3:421-31

Module 4

• Armstrong, D., The rise of surveillance medicine, Sociology of Health & Illness, Vol 17, No.3., 1995
• Brock, G., “Health in Developing Countries and Our Global Responsibilities” in A. Dawson (ed.) The Philosophy of Public Health Farnham: Ashgate, 2009: 73-84
• Burns JK. (2009) “Mental health and inequity: a human rights approach to inequality, discrimination, and mental disability”. Health Hum Rights 11(2):19–31.
• Childress, JF., “Chapter 2: Moral Considerations: Bases and Limits for Public Health Interventions” https://samples.jbpub.com/9780763780463/Chapter2.pdf
• Dawson, A., “Introduction: The Philosophy of Public Health”, in A Dawson (ed.) The Philosophy of Public Health Farnham: Ashgate, 2009: 1-10
• Foucault, M., Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, Penguin: London, 1979 (Docile Bodies, Part Three: Discipline pp.135-169)
• Gostin, L., Powers, M., “What Does Social Justice Require for the Public’s Health? Public Health Ethics and Policy Imperatives: Social justice demands more than fair distribution of resources in extreme public health emergencies”, Health Affairs 25, no. 4 (2006): 1053–1060; 10.1377/hlthaff .25.4.1053
• Habrmas, J., Lennox S., Lennox, F., The Public Sphere: An Encyclopedia Article ( 1964), New German Critique, No. 3. (Autumn, 1974), pp. 49-55
• Horton, R., Georges Canguilhem: philosopher of disease, J R Soc Med 1995;88:316-319
• Lee, LM., Zarowsky, C., “Foundational values for public health”, Public Health Reviews (2015) 36:2 DOI 10.1186/s40985-015-0004-1
• Nijhuis, HG., Van Der Maesen, LJG., “The Philosophical Foundations of Public Health: An Invitation to Debate” Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health Feb 1994, Vol. 48, No. 1: 1-3, https://www.jstor.org/stable/25567833
• Prince, JS., “A Public Philosophy In Public Health”, July 1958, 48(7):903-12
• Weed, DL., “Towards a philosophy of public health”, J Epidemiol Community Health 1999;53:99–104
• White, F., Stallones, L., Last, J., “Philosophical and Ethical Foundations of Public Health” in Philosophical and Ethical Foundations of Public Health,2014, OUP, 10.1093/med/9780199751907.003.0003
• Wing, S., “Objectivity and Ethics in Environmental Health Science”, Environmental Health Perspectives, Nov., 2003, Vol. 111, No. 14 (Nov., 2003), pp. 1809-1818