Amidst the pandemic of covid-19, there has been some awareness generated among the people regarding public health.
PUBLIC HEALTH is all about the health of community at large which includes - newborn health,child health,adolescent health,reproductive health,and health of elderly. It is an allied entity intended towards health of individuals in a holistic manner with insights on communicable diseases,non communicable diseases, nutrition, social behaviour,managment of available resources and statistics related to health.
There are many synonyms by which public health has been known for eg community medicine,community and family medicine,preventive and social medicine; all intended towards health for all .
Talking about the awareness,even today only a little of the huge population is aware about public health and its implications.
While I was working as medical officer in the community, I found that people are not so keen when it comes to health perspective. Well, more than 2/3rd of India's population is residing in RURAL and URBAN SLUM areas and only a handful is dwelling in the elite or creamy layer. So when it comes to community health , the larger section of society has to be considered ,as all our NATIONAL HEALTH PROGRAMS also aim towards Universal Health Coverage without discrimination of caste,creed,religion,culture or topography.
But when actually working at ground level, we do find that when it comes to people's understanding of health ; educational status,socio economic status and gender, influence the quality of life and in turn the health of people.
The reasons behind India being a developing nation and not developed ,can be many,but few important relevant reasons here are-careless attitude, self centred thought process, escapism from good habits and social responsibilities , unwillingness towards acceptance for betterment, social taboos and stigmas related to various issues.
In recent times, there have been instances where blame game is played by people on health care facilities blindly, without understanding and realizing their own roles. In the pandemic it has been proved that public health is in PUBLIC DOMAIN and is the accountability of people as well towards health for all. It is high time and need of the hour where everyone understand their roles towards health and safety of all.
