La salud pública es la disciplina encargada de la protección y mejora de la salud de la población humana. Tiene como objetivo mejorar la salud, así como el control y la erradicación de las enfermedades. Es una ciencia de carácter multidisciplinario, ya que utiliza los conocimientos de otras ramas como las ciencias biológicas, conductuales, sanitarias y sociales. Es uno de los pilares en la formación de todo profesional de la salud.

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Public health refers to "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals." It is concerned with threats to health based on population health analysis. The population in question can be as small as a handful of people, or as large as all the inhabitants of several continents (for instance, in the case of a pandemic). The dimensions of health can encompass "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity", as defined by the United Nations' World Health Organization. Public health incorporates the interdisciplinary approaches of epidemiology, biostatistics and health services. Environmental health, community health, behavioral health, health economics, public policy, insurance medicine, mental health and occupational safety and health are other important subfields. The focus of public health intervention is to improve health and quality of life through prevention and treatment of disease and other physical and mental health conditions. This is done through surveillance of cases and health indicators, and through promotion of healthy behaviors. Examples of common public health measures include promotion of hand washing, breastfeeding, delivery of vaccinations, and distribution of condoms to control the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Modern public health practice requires multidisciplinary teams of public health workers and professionals including physicians specializing in public health/community medicine/infectious disease, psychologists, epidemiologists, biostatisticians, medical assistants or Assistant Medical Officers, public health nurses, midwives, medical microbiologists, environmental health officers / public health inspectors, pharmacists, dentists, dietitians and nutritionists, veterinarians, public health engineers, public health lawyers, sociologists, community development workers, communications experts, bioethicists, computer scientists/informaticians, and others. There is a great disparity in access to health care and public health initiatives between developed nations and developing nations. In the developing world, public health infrastructures are still forming.

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