Understanding Public Health Services: Planning, Prevention, and Promotion
Public Health Services: An Introduction
Public Health Services are aimed at the general population and specific groups. Their function is the planning, prevention, control, and public health promotion. These services remain important for society but often go unnoticed, with awareness only increasing during crises (e.g., mad cow disease, avian flu).
Key Activities of Public Health Services
The activities developed by Public Health Services include, broadly:
- Health protection (establishing rules governing activities that may affect health)
- Health promotion and disease prevention
- Epidemiological surveillance
- Health information
- Resource planning
- Health services
- Health research
Public Health and the European Union
The concept of public health and development are also part of the political agenda of states and their trade relations. Our membership in the European Union determines the State’s action because it plays a large and growing impact on the policies of the Member States.
The European Union’s social policy designs programs that the various administrations (in the case of Spain, in cooperation with the autonomous regions) develop and group various actions that are specified in:
- Preparation, monitoring, and evaluating the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion (according to the European Strategy)
- Cooperation with CC.AA and local authorities to promote primary social services
- Promotion of public policies for the promotion and improvement of living conditions of the Roma
- Management information system for users of social services
- Studies and the training of professionals in social services care
The European Social Model and Social Inclusion
Following the primary European social model and welfare (European Process in Social Protection and Social Inclusion), the aim is for people to contribute to economic and social progress without being deprived of its benefits. European leaders (2000) established the Social Inclusion Process to act decisively and eradicate poverty (in 2010, under the Lisbon Strategy).
The EU has offered a framework for the development of national strategies and policy coordination between Member States (on issues such as poverty and social exclusion). An important part of this process is the participation of all sectors of society (such as NGOs, social partners, local and regional people working with the poor or excluded).
Since 2006, this process includes the policy areas of social inclusion, pensions, and health care and long-term care.
A Renewed Social Agenda
The European Commission adopted in (2008) A Renewed Social Agenda to respond effectively to current challenges of society. This renewed social agenda aims to create more opportunities for all European citizens and improve access to quality services and demonstrate their solidarity with those suffering the negative consequences of technological change and globalization or the aging population.
Open Method of Coordination
The member states decided to promote more effective policies in the fields of Social Protection and Social Inclusion in order to learn from all the experiences. The Open Method of Coordination (MAC) for the Protection and Social Inclusion (revised Lisbon in 2006) includes:
- The agreement of common objectives and shared goals with a high level and rests in a joint process
- The agreement on common indicators that make clear the extent to which progress these objectives.
- The national reporting, where member states set out their policy planning at a certain time to meet these objectives.
- The joint assessment strategies between the EU and Member States