Three domains of public health

There are three core domains to public health: health protection, health improvement and health services delivery.

Health protection

Health protection is something we have all become much more familiar with in the Covid-19 pandemic and health protection means just that, protecting the health of the population. This includes the control of infectious diseases, managing health emergency responses and environmental health hazards.

Healthcare services delivery

Healthcare public health improves public health by ensuring health services are of consistently high quality and especially that they are evidence-informed and value-based, and address issues of effectiveness, efficiency and equity.

Health improvement

Health improvement, or health promotion, means what we can do to improve health at individual and population level. This covers a wide range of activities including improving health behaviours over the life course as well as improving the social determinants of health and reducing inequalities, improving education, and addressing housing, employment, and social relationships as well as monitoring of specific diseases and risk factors.