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Commentary: Viewpoint: Re-instating a ‘public health’ system under universal health care in India

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Abstract

I examine possibilities for strengthening essential public health functions in the context of India’s drive to implement universal health care. In a country where population health outcomes are rooted in social, political, economic, cultural, and ecological conditions, it is important to have a state mediated public health system that can modify the causes of the major public health problems. This calls for strengthening the social epidemiological approach in public health by demarcating public health functions distinct from medical care. This will be a prerequisite for the growth of the public health profession in the country, because it can offer avenues for newly trained professionals within the country to work in ‘core’ public health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Health Systems Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, V.N. Purav Marg, Deonar, Mumbai, 400088, Maharashtra, India

    Mathew George

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  1. Mathew George
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As India implements universal health care, the author points to public health functions beyond the realm of medicine that need concerted attention if India is to improve the health of its population.

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George, M. Commentary: Viewpoint: Re-instating a ‘public health’ system under universal health care in India. J Public Health Pol 36, 15–23 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1057/jphp.2014.37

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