Short Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine GN Prabhakara
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1
  1. Introduction
  2. Man towards Health for All
  3. Our Country
2

IntroductionChapter 1

 
PREVENTIVE MEDICINE, SOCIAL MEDICINE, COMMUNITY HEALTH
Long revolutionary history exists in the development of public health. Transformation of individual health care got transformed slowly through the changes in social history of a nation. Preventing illness in epidemics was also rare in those days. Jenner's discovery of vaccination, first pathogenic bacteria demonstration by Robert Koch marks the turning point in public health.
The life in developing countries was one mainly rural and cities with home industries. Transport was insignificant. However there was a stabilized village community.
Mode of farming changed the outlook and later Industrial revolution gave the life a new face with expanding towns. Rapid growth led to development of urban and shanty towns and migration of rural population.
Problem of poverty as a social problem made apparent to adopt in certain welfare schemes to overcome the social problem in the country. Health authorities were after some way to mitigate the obvious social problems of the country. Acts, Amendments and Rules including labor regulations came into existence.
Health institutions in the country started recording events and it became possible to estimate the extent of disease, determinants of disease. This helped in mapping out national level and global level epidemiology of certain diseases.
India had committees in British India and many committees in post independent India that lead to transformation of health care services in the country. This helped in both long term and short-term planning for the health and welfare of the country. Simultaneously control and eradication programs were planned to reduce morbidity and mortality of Indian population.
Development of District health administration was a turning point. This led to Panchayat Raj System viz., rules by the people for the people and of the people. Slowly community participation gave way for the responsibility for the health of the local community. Child health, maternal health, made the contribution of preventive medicine a concrete in the system of health in India. School health, child welfare and home visiting were the basis for preventive and social medicine development in the country.
Social reforms could be seen during 1960 to 1990 which included Education Acts, Industrial Acts, Social insurance and Social assistance. Thus, social security built up in the country made it possible to visualize the development of community health through preventive and social medicine. Simultaneously mental health and environmental health improved that lead to considerable rise in life expectation.
Recent advances like Universal Immunization, screening, survey, surveillance, study of congenital deformities, child education made it possible to consider preventive medicine, social medicine and community health as leading branches of medicine in the country.