Principles and Practice of Community Medicine Asma Rahim
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1Health and Disease at a Glance
2

Concept of Community MedicineCHAPTER 1

 
Community medicine is synonymous with ‘Population Medicine’. Population medicine deals with health and disease at a community level. It is also referred to as Hygiene, Public health, Preventive medicine and Social medicine.
 
PREVENTIVE MEDICINE
The term Preventive medicine is closely linked with the names of James Lind and Edward Jenner (18th Century). James Lind, a naval surgeon advocated intake of fresh fruits and vegetables for the prevention of scurvy among sailors. Edward Jenner found vaccination against smallpox. Thus Preventive medicine as a branch for disease prevention by specific measures like immunisation gained importance. Now its scope has broadened and includes measures like health promotion, specific protection, treatment and prevention of disability. This includes all the three levels of prevention, most important being primary prevention.
 
SOCIAL MEDICINE
Concept put forward by Jules Guerrin. It is the study of man as a social being in his total environment. With the advent of epidemiology as a new discipline the term social medicine lost its importance and came to be replaced by the term community medicine.
Community medicine: is synonymous with Public health, Preventive Medicine, Social Medicine. There are various definitions for Community medicine.
A Practical definition is “ the field concerned with the study of health and disease in the population of a defined community or group”. Goals are identifying health problems and needs of the population; planning, implementation and evaluation of health measures taken to meet these needs. The ultimate aim of Community medicine is achieving “Health for all”.
 
PIONEERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
These are some of the important pioneers in Public Health
Edwin Chadwick (1800–1890): English lawyer who investigated the health and sanitation of inhabitants of England. Chadwick's report paved the way for the antifilth Crusade, “Great sanitary awakening” and enactment of Public Health Act (1848).4
John Snow: English epidemiologist who investigated the cause of frequent cholera outbreaks. He came to the conclusion that water is the agent for spread of cholera.
Louis Pasteur (1822-1895): Formulated “Germ theory of disease” (1873). Concept of epidemiology originated on the basis of this theory.
James Lind (1716-1794): A naval surgeon who carried out successful controlled trials for the prevention of scurvy.
Edward Jenner (1749-1823): Discovered smallpox vaccination (1796).
CEA Winslow: Defined Public health and its scope.
William Budd (1811-1880): English physician who investigated infectious diseases.
Robert Koch (1843-1910): Important contributor to the understanding of Infectious disease epidemiology.