Public Health / Public Safety

According to Charles-Edward Amory Winslow, Professor of Public Health at the Yale School of Medicine from 1915 to 1945, public health is “the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals.” Specific areas of public health are epidemiology, health services and bio-statistics, plus focuses on environmental, social, behavioral and occupational health. Two of the basic distinctions between “public health” and the general medical profession are that public health focuses on prevention rather than cure and on populations rather than individuals.