Public health

The new public health integrates human wellbeing into the ecosystem. Public health has its origins in mid-nineteenth century Europe, introduced to deal with urban problems of air and water quality, food-borne infection (see food-borne illness) and diseases arising out of poor hygiene and poverty. The most important solutions to these problems came from changes to social conditions rather than advances in medical technology. Environmental health, preventative medicine and social reform were key components of this notion of public health. In more modern times, despite changes in the pattern of illness from infectious disease to lifestyle-related illnesses, this conception of public health began to fade. By the 1970s, the emphasis shifted from `public' to `individual' risk factors. The link between social change and public health weakened. Less emphasis was placed on the interdependence of health and the social and physical environments. Individuals were seen as responsible for their lifestyles and health risk factors.