Public health: who, what, and why?
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SPECIAL SECTION ON WHY PUBLIC HEALTH MATTERS TODAY: COMMENTARY
Public health: who, what, and why? Jason L. Cabaj 1,2,3
&
Richard Musto 1,2 & William A. Ghali 1,2,4
Received: 20 June 2018 / Accepted: 20 March 2019 # The Canadian Public Health Association 2019
Abstract There has been renewed concern about the state of public health in Canada, with several recent articles in this journal suggesting that the discipline of public health is under threat and that there has been a significant erosion of its core infrastructure. We strongly agree with the need for a well-resourced formal public health system and preservation of capacity to carry out core public health functions, while also positing a complementary narrative that emphasizes the possibility for a broad notion of public health to persevere and thrive in the face of these challenges. We consider what public health is, who public health is, and why public health exists, and suggest that the answers to these questions point to opportunities to strengthen the necessary interdisciplinary approaches that can best address current and future public health concerns. Résumé L’état de la santé publique au Canada suscite des préoccupations renouvelées; plusieurs articles publiés récemment dans cette revue indiquent que la discipline de la santé publique est. menacée, et que son infrastructure de base subit une érosion importante. Nous convenons tout à fait de la nécessité d’avoir un système de santé publique officiel doté de ressources suffisantes et de préserver la capacité d’exercer les fonctions essentielles de la santé publique, mais nous avançons aussi un discours complémentaire qui insiste sur la possibilité d’une notion élargie de la santé publique pour persévérer et prospérer malgré les difficultés. Nous examinons en quoi consiste la santé publique, qui en sont les acteurs et pourquoi elle existe, et nous faisons valoir que les réponses à ces questions suggèrent des possibilités de renforcer les démarches interdisciplinaires nécessaires les mieux à même d’aborder les préoccupations actuelles et futures en santé publique. Keywords Public health . Health in all policies . Advocacy Mots-clés Santé publique . La santé dans toutes les politiques . Défense des droits
Several recent articles in this journal have suggested that the discipline of public health is under siege (Potvin 2014) and that there has been a significant erosion of its core infrastructure (Hancock 2018). These are concerning messages in a
* Jason L. Cabaj [email protected] 1
Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
2
O’Brien Institute for Public Health, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
3
Population Public & Indigenous Health, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
4
Department of Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
vulnerable time. Public health programs and services have often been considered a soft target
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