PUBLIC HEALTH 101
What is Public Health?
According to the American Public Health Association, "Public Health promotes and protects the health of all people and their communities. This science-based, evidence-backed field strives to give everyone a safe place to live, learn, work and play.
What are Social Determinants of Health?
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) define Social Determinants of Health as "the nonmedical factors that influence health outcomes. They are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life."
What are Upstream and Downstream Factors?
Upstream Factors address the root causes of positive or negative health outcomes, such as access to or lack of proper nutrition sources, safe housing, adequate recreational spaces, clean air etc.
Downstream Factors focus on treating the injury or disease.