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Article: Policy for Public Health
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of Public Health
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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POLICY FOR PUBLIC HEALTH
The Institute of Medicine defines public health as "what we, as a society, do collectively to assure the conditions in which people can be healthy" (1988,p. 1). It further notes that public health is more comprehensive than the specific activities of any particular agency, organization, or sector. Public health encompasses a wide range of organized community efforts to prevent disease and promote health, and it often involves private organizations and individuals, working on their own or in partnership with the public sector. Policies for public health consist of planned activities to address health problems as they are identified and defined by a community. ...