Title: Lesson One - Introduction

What is International Publc Health?

Each of us has a stake in the health of others, no matter how distant they may live.[1]

The course content contains many interactive questions. Answers that you enter are intentionally not saved. This is so that you can review the content and benefit from repeatedly working the answers.

 International public health is the field devoted to the study and improvement of health for people living in all communities and in all nations. It is a field that relies upon several associated disciplines for effectiveness, including sociology, biostatistics, economics, medicine, nursing, political science, and more. International public health is in every sense a global subject.

The interconnected nature of our world today means that everyone has a stake in international public health, for whatever aids or depresses the health of even the humblest, most remote people ultimately influences us all.

[1] World Flag map.png. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:World_Flag_map.png&oldid=239590363. Accessed September 12, 2017.

Implications -International Public Health

International public health carries broad implications for life on the entire planet. Five leading implications are:

• A means of foreign policy: Engagement in international public health activities is used to create trade alliances,

enhance international reputation, promote economic growth and democracy in other countries, and open new markets for trade.

• A means to security: International public health concerns influence a nation’s policies to protect their own population

with regard to issues like bioterrorism, contagious diseases, drug resistance, and disaster management.

• A means to charity: Health promotion is considered a major factor in the fight against poverty, a front on which both governmental and non-governmental organizations take leading roles.

• A means to investment: Health promotion maximizes economic development by enhancing market stability and workforce quality.

• A means to reduce the global burden of disease: As the burden of disease is reduced, multiple benefits occur, including worldwide growth in education, literacy, political stability, economic prosperity, mental health, and longevity. To this end, both risk factor reduction and disease control are sought as outcomes.[3]

[2] Examination of world's health. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Examination_of_world%27s_health_-_journal.pmed.0010003.g001.png&oldid=219957514. Accessed September 12, 2017.

[3] Stuckler D, McKee M. Five metaphors about global-health policy. Lancet. 2008;372(9633):95-97.

Review Question

Q: The implications of international public health are profound in each of the following arenas EXCEPT which ONE?
- Medical tourism (correct)
- Foreign policy
- Economic development
- Charity
- Global security