Public health has been defined as “the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting human health through organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals”. The public can be as small as a handful of people or as large as a village or an entire city; in the case of a pandemic it may encompass several continents.
Other important subfields include environmental health, community health, behavioral health, health economics, public policy, mental health, occupational safety, gender issues in health, and sexual and reproductive health.
Common public health initiatives include promotion of handwashing and breastfeeding, delivery of vaccinations, suicide prevention, and distribution of condoms to control the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
