Public Health Approach
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"Public health is the science and art of protecting and improving the health of communities through education, promotion of healthy lifestyles, and research for disease and injury prevention." (www.whatispublichealth.org)
Introduction and Definition
Public health focuses on:
- the population as a whole vs. the individual;
- maintaining or improving health vs. treating disease; and
- prevention and health promotion vs. diagnosis and treatment.
A public health approach focuses on preventing problems or injuries from occurring or reducing their severity. It involves
- conducting surveillance to determine the frequency and severity of a problem,
- determining which individual and environmental risk factors are contributing to the problem,
- implementing a health promotion program, and
- evaluating the programs effectiveness.
Public Health Systems Approach
Successful efforts to reduce crashes and traffic-related injuries to seniors have utilized a public health systems approach that focuses on changing interactions between the systems that affect crashes and injuries. These systems can include healthcare, social services, licensing, transportation, law enforcement, and other disciplines. For more information on systems approaches to community change, read the Center for Civic Partnerships "Community-Based Systems Change: Getting Started."
Key Components and Background
Approaching senior safe mobility from a public health systems perspective involves:
- preventing health and functional impairments from restricting mobility and causing driving cessation;
- changing how local and state systems in the public and private sectors address driving safety and older drivers specifically; and
- creating environments and systems that support safe mobility for all seniors.
Health promotion theories can help clarify why some interventions are not as effective as others and can help you create interventions that have higher chances of success. For example, educational and public information programs to increase older adults use of driving safety services or tips may not have the desired effect of enhancing their safety on the road. For older adults to engage in behaviors or actions that will benefit their driving and mobility, they need to believe that
- they are susceptible to driving problems;
- their driving problems have potentially serious consequences;
- their actions, such as talking to their doctor, can enable them to be a safer driver longer; and
- the barriers to talking with their doctor, such as fears of losing their licenses, are outweighed by the benefits of potentially being a safer driver longer.
Additional Reading
The Public Health Perspective on Aging (Generations, Summer 2005)
Theory at a Glance: A Guide for Health Promotion Practice, National Cancer Institute, 2005
- A member of the Injury Prevention Web family of sites. Copyright ©2005. Funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency.
