Abstract
This chapter introduces some concepts originally developed in the field of public health, to provide readers with criteria to set priorities in public health dermatology. To this end, we first review the classic definitions of not only public health, but also epidemiology, which all encompass notions of frequency, distribution, and causes of health issues within and between populations. This is followed by a discussion on how a public health problem is conceptualized, with a strong emphasis on “magnitude,” “transcendence,” and “vulnerability” as the core concepts on which to base health policies, health interventions, and delivery of care. The text then explains the main differences between the population-based and individual approaches to health promotion and disease prevention, subsequently bringing to light some examples of dermatologic conditions that may be considered public health problems. Readers, especially dermatologistis and other health professionals, are encouraged to use the aforementioned concepts if high-quality care is to be offered to all populations.
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Further Reading
As a resource for further learning, we recommend the following bibliographic references to interested readers:
Fletcher RH, Fletcher SW, Fletcher GS. Clinical epidemiology: the essentials. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Health; 2014.
Keyes KM, Galea S. Epidemiology matters: a new introduction to methodological foundations. New York: Oxford University Press; 2014.
Rothman KJ, Greenland S, Lash TL. Modern epidemiology. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2008.
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Bastos, J.L., Duquia, R.P., Martínez-Mesa, J. (2023). Setting Priorities in Public Health Dermatology. In: Rangel Bonamigo, R. (eds) Dermatology in Public Health Environments. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13505-7_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13505-7_1
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