My understanding of public health

Everyone understands Public Health differently. My personal understanding of what it is, and what you can do with it, has changed throughout my studies.

When I was applying to study Public Health, I knew that it would teach about disease prevention, and we would learn about different infections, and create policies.

During my first days at university, I was surprised by what we learned in our first modules. We were learning about professional skills and also having practical learning. We were interviewing second-year students about vaping. This practical work taught us about qualitative research: how to use data and understand it. Since then, I have realised that Public Health involves a lot of data.

In the following year, my understanding changed a lot. I learned that this field covers different disciplines. The epidemiology module taught me that public health can also include a lot of maths. Global health showed me that we can target global problems in different countries.

At the end of my second year, I explored public health from the political and economic spectrums. I came to understand that politics and the economy play a significant role in people’s health. Also, that correct budget use and good political relationships could positively impact population health.

Finally, I think I get the real picture of this field in my last year of study. Now I know that public health is not only about preventing disease. Public health covers almost all aspects of everyday life.

If we have good streets and lights and we are not falling down because of that, that will be a small part of public health specialists’ job. If a new infection occurs in the world and becomes a pandemic, public health will deal with that. If we see a little label on food about nutrition, or if the country needs to choose which medicine should be purchased and used by people, specialists from this area will be involved again.

Public health is an art and science where you can find multidisciplinary fields and work in an area that's broader than you can imagine.

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Deividas is studying Public Health at ARU in Chelmsford. To find out more about our degree courses and student life at ARU, book your place at an Open Day.