Lecture 1: Introduction to new public health
Social determinants of health: the conditions in which people are born, grow, live work, and
age.
What is health?
The traditional clockwork model of health and medicine: “Health is when the body
operates efficiently, like a machine.”
But, the WHO says: “Health is a state of complete, physical, mental and social well-
being and not merely the absence of disease of infirmity.”
Positive health:
o Strengths that contribute to good health and protect against illness
o Physical, mental, spiritual aspects
o Daily functioning, social participation
o Quality of life
What is public health?
Health of populations rather than individuals: holistic/ecosystems understanding
Prevention approach rather than treatment: protecting groups of people
Collective rather than personal interventions: focus on places, settings, locations
WHO Healthy Cities approach
Physical and social environments
Strong community; citizen participation
Focus on such outcomes as the number of trusting people; availability of community
spaces
New perspective on public health
, Equity takes center stage (“health for all’)
All-encompassing: all sectors and all policies should play their role in promoting
health
Importance of citizen participation and involvement
Two main issues for research
Causes of, and contributors to, health
o Individual, social, structural factors
o Biology, behavior, support, environment, policy, economy
Effectiveness of policies and interventions
o Which approaches effectively influence underlying factors?
o Individual, social, and structural approaches to change
Different research methods
Quantitative research
o Monitoring and surveillance
o Case-control studies
o Cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys
o (Non)-randomized experimental studies
Qualitative research
o Focus groups
o In-depth interviewing
o Case studies
o Document analysis
Lecture 2: Politics, inequity, and social determinants of health
Public health is a political process
Multiple political issues: population health, economic & cultural life,
well-being/mental health, and health system capacity.
Baum, 2016 (p. 79): “Public health actions are expressions of prevailing political
ideologies”
Research shows that public health has a…
o … positive association with welfare state generosity
o … positive association with social-democratic political tradition and
democracy
o … negative association with globalization
Individualism and public health
Influential social changes:
o Increasing dominance of individualism
Social determinants of health: the conditions in which people are born, grow, live work, and
age.
What is health?
The traditional clockwork model of health and medicine: “Health is when the body
operates efficiently, like a machine.”
But, the WHO says: “Health is a state of complete, physical, mental and social well-
being and not merely the absence of disease of infirmity.”
Positive health:
o Strengths that contribute to good health and protect against illness
o Physical, mental, spiritual aspects
o Daily functioning, social participation
o Quality of life
What is public health?
Health of populations rather than individuals: holistic/ecosystems understanding
Prevention approach rather than treatment: protecting groups of people
Collective rather than personal interventions: focus on places, settings, locations
WHO Healthy Cities approach
Physical and social environments
Strong community; citizen participation
Focus on such outcomes as the number of trusting people; availability of community
spaces
New perspective on public health
, Equity takes center stage (“health for all’)
All-encompassing: all sectors and all policies should play their role in promoting
health
Importance of citizen participation and involvement
Two main issues for research
Causes of, and contributors to, health
o Individual, social, structural factors
o Biology, behavior, support, environment, policy, economy
Effectiveness of policies and interventions
o Which approaches effectively influence underlying factors?
o Individual, social, and structural approaches to change
Different research methods
Quantitative research
o Monitoring and surveillance
o Case-control studies
o Cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys
o (Non)-randomized experimental studies
Qualitative research
o Focus groups
o In-depth interviewing
o Case studies
o Document analysis
Lecture 2: Politics, inequity, and social determinants of health
Public health is a political process
Multiple political issues: population health, economic & cultural life,
well-being/mental health, and health system capacity.
Baum, 2016 (p. 79): “Public health actions are expressions of prevailing political
ideologies”
Research shows that public health has a…
o … positive association with welfare state generosity
o … positive association with social-democratic political tradition and
democracy
o … negative association with globalization
Individualism and public health
Influential social changes:
o Increasing dominance of individualism
