15-17 - 7-PDF - Community Medicine With Recent Advances - 3 PDF
15-17 - 7-PDF - Community Medicine With Recent Advances - 3 PDF
15-17 - 7-PDF - Community Medicine With Recent Advances - 3 PDF
Introduction to
Community Medicine
INTRODUCTION
Community Medicine is that branch of medicine, which
deals with the study of provision of preventive, promotive,
curative, rehabilitative and evaluative services to the community at large, through an organized comprehensive health
care delivery system.
The goal is to identify the health problems and needs of
the defined population (community diagnosis) and to provide
the comprehensive health care (preventive, promotive,
curative and rehabilitative services) in an organized manner
followed by the evaluation of the services.
The term Community Medicine is only a new terminology. It is the successor of the terms Hygiene, Preventive
Medicine, Social Medicine and Public Heath.
Hygiene
This word is derived from Greek word Hygiea, the
Goddess of Health. Her disciples were called Hygienists,
who practiced Hygiene for health. Hygiea is represented as
a beautiful woman, holding in her hand a bowl from which
a serpent is drinking. In Geek mythology, the serpent testifies
the art of healing, which symbol is retained even today.
During ancient days, due to lack of knowledge about disease
causation and spread, Hygiene and cleanliness was the only
option for the promotion of health and prevention of disease.
Hygiene is defined as the Science of health and embraces
all factors contributing to healthful living. Hygiene continued
to be in prominence until further knowledge about disease
causation was acquired.
Later when Germ theory of disease causation came
to light, in 1840, the tern Public Health came into general
use, directed towards the maintenance and improvement of
the health of the people. In 1920, Prof. Winslow defined
Public Health as the science and art of preventing the
Community Medicine
Social Pathology
Just like human pathology deals with the study of abnormal
structure of the body organs, so also social pathology deals
with the study of defects in the society such as strikes,
lock-outs, theft, murder, robbery, sexual assault, juvenile
delinquency, etc. and just like the extent of pathology is
studied by post-mortem studies so also the extent of social
pathology in the community is studied by social postmortem, which consists of morbidity and mortality (disease
Community diagnosis
Made by the Epidemiologist
Concerned with a defined
population
Concerned with both sick and
healthy people
Epidemiologist conducts surveys
It is arrived at based on natural
history of disease
It involves epidemiological
investigations
Epidemiologist decides the plan
of action
Prevention and promotion is the
main aim.
It involves the evaluation of
programme
Epidemiologist is interested in
statistical values
2. Operational
strategy
3. Organizational frame
work
4. Nature of
care
Community medicine
Hospital medicine
contd...
Features
Community medicine
Hospital medicine
illness
Virtually no intersectoral
co-ordination exists
contd...