The practice of vaccination began in the 1800s, following Edward Jenner`s pioneering work in the treatment of smallpox. James Lind`s discovery of the causes of scurvy in sailors and its attenuation by introducing fruit on long voyages was published in 1754 and led to the adoption of this idea by the Royal Navy. [107] Efforts have also been made to make health issues accessible to a wider audience; In 1752, the British physician Sir John Pringle published Observations on the Diseases of the Army in Camp and Garrison, advocating the importance of adequate ventilation in barracks and the provision of latrines to soldiers. [108] For example, modern diets contain multiples of minimum daily sodium requirements – primarily from packaged foods and restaurant meals – making it difficult for individuals to control their intake.27 Reducing dietary sodium can reduce high blood pressure at the population level.28,29 A healthier food environment can be created by reducing salt in packaged foods. This is happening in the United Kingdom, which has introduced four-year sodium reduction targets,30 and Finland, where dietary sodium intake has fallen by about 25% over the past 30 years.31 Some programs and policies related to public health promotion and prevention can be controversial. This is the case, for example, with programmes that focus on preventing HIV transmission through safer sex campaigns and needle exchange programmes. Another is tobacco control. Changing smoking habits requires long-term strategies, as opposed to controlling communicable diseases, which generally takes less time for the effects to be observed. Many countries have implemented important initiatives to reduce smoking, such as increasing taxes and banning smoking in some or all public places. Proponents argue by presenting evidence that smoking is one of the leading causes of death and that governments therefore have a duty to reduce mortality rates, both by limiting passive (passive) smoking and by providing fewer opportunities to smoke. Opponents say this undermines individual freedom and personal responsibility, and fear that the state may be encouraged to eliminate more and more choices in the name of better health for the population as a whole.
In the United States, the first public health organization based on a state health department and local health authorities was founded in New York City in 1866. [118] In the past, public health campaigns have been criticized as a form of “healthism,” moralistic in nature, rather than focusing on health. Drs. Petr Shkrabanek and James McCormick wrote a series of publications on the subject in the late 1980s and early 1990s, criticizing the British “Health of The Nation” campaign. Britain became a leader in the development of public health initiatives from the 19th century onwards, as it was the first modern urban nation in the world. [10] Public health initiatives that have begun to develop have focused initially on sanitation (e.g., the Liverpool and London sewage system), infectious disease control (including vaccination and quarantine) and a developing infrastructure of various sciences, e.g. statistics, microbiology, epidemiology, engineering. [10] The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies essential functions of public health programs, including:[36] Public health policies play a critical role in the overall well-being and safety of a population. Based on the given needs of a community, public health policy sets clear goals and solutions for overall health. Many health problems are due to inappropriate personal behavior.
From an evolutionary psychological point of view, the excessive consumption of new harmful substances is due to the activation of a reward system developed for substances such as drugs, tobacco, alcohol, refined salt, fats and carbohydrates. New technologies such as modern transport also lead to a decrease in physical activity. Research has shown that behaviour is modified more effectively by taking into account evolutionary motivations, rather than simply presenting information about health effects. The marketing industry has long known how important it is to combine products of high status and appeal to others.