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Public health and medicine - two different perspectives

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Public health and medicine are the focus of today's discussion. What is the difference? And why does it matter? I'm going to talk about some of the things that are on my mind as a public health scientist in these times. It's about both COVID-19 and nutrition. Welcome to another health-themed Wednesday!

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What is public health and public health science?

Never has the subject of public health been so hot as it is now. I never imagined this when I was studying for my Master's degree in public health science at Karolinska Institutet many, many years ago, or when I was doing my PhD. Back then, people tended to ask "Public health, what is it?". Now they might ask, "Do you work with viruses?" No, I don't. I work with eating habits and physical activity.

Natur Killarney

So what is public health and public health science? Well, it's about health at population level. It is about lifestyle habits, but also about structures in society. For example, why do some groups in society have poorer health than others? What can be done about it?

Plåtis

Health is often described using a model, as shown below. The point is that an individual's health is affected by many different things, ranging from age and heredity to lifestyle, social circumstances, work environment, access to food and healthcare, and, for example, economics and gender equality, etc. You can see that there are many different factors at play.

Dahlgren and Whitehead 1991, source: Public Health Agency of Sweden.

Public health and medicine - two different perspectives

Public health and medicine are two completely different perspectives, and both are important. Take COVID-19 as an example! Specialist doctors probably have the most knowledge about the disease and the body, but may not have the full picture of society. Public health sciences bring a different perspective. How do populations behave when given different advice? How will different population groups be affected by social isolation or unemployment? How do you best communicate health information to different social groups? Things like that. Did I say we need both perspectives?

Coronatider

What about nutrition?

I usually write a little about food on Wednesdays, so I must not be worse this Wednesday! I usually say that I have a doctorate in eating habits and physical activity and it's true, but even though I've read a lot, I'm only an expert on eating habits and physical activity. a small, small area. Fortunately, people in the research community collaborate with each other to bring all their knowledge together. A bit like a jigsaw puzzle.

That's how it is in research. People can research for decades in one area, but the subject they are an expert in is usually very narrow. And even within that subject, there are always question marks. Then you meet people outside of the research world who have read a bit on the internet, followed the media and attended some evening courses and are ... rock-solid. A bit ironic, isn't it?

It is also somewhat ironic that journalists repeatedly insist on interviewing doctors about nutrition. In our country there are lots of nutritionists and dieticians who have studied least three years of full-time nutrition education. Many, of course, have gone on to pursue a career in nutrition, including a Master's degree, a PhD and research in nutrition.

Almost 70 per cent of medical training programmes in Europe include teaching about nutrition, according to a international survey. On average, students at these universities receive only about 24 hours of training on this topic, and the rest receive none at all.

When will we realise that there are actually (two!) professionals who have this as their primary subject and focus, and study the subject full-time for several years? Why not interview them, I just wonder...?

Food, health, public health ...

Public health is close to my heart. I understand that you also have many thoughts. What interests you most? General health issues, eating habits, physical activity ... or something else in the field of health? More reading from previous Wednesdays:

Promenad i tjeckisk skog

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