Community Medicine Cheat Sheet
Health Is More Than No Diagnosis
Concept of health and disease: WHO definition, public health core functions, dimensions of health, levels of prevention and epidemiological transition for NEET-PG.
MedNext Academy | 3 min read
Health Is More Than No Diagnosis
Concept of health and disease: WHO definition, public health core functions, dimensions of health, levels of prevention and epidemiological transition for NEET-PG.
This topic covers the concept of health and disease, defining public health as organised population-level action and framing health across physical, mental, social and spiritual dimensions with levels of prevention.
High-yield lines
- The WHO 1948 definition describes health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
- Winslow's 1920 definition calls public health the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through organised efforts of society.
- Public health differs from clinical medicine by focusing on defined populations rather than individual patients.
- The three core public-health functions described by the Institute of Medicine are assessment, policy development and assurance.
- The dimensions of health include physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being.
- The National Health Mission, launched in 2005, is the primary framework for strengthening public-health delivery in India.
- Primary prevention acts before disease onset through health promotion and specific protection such as immunisation.
- Secondary prevention detects and treats disease early through screening to halt progression.
- Tertiary prevention limits disability and promotes rehabilitation once disease is established.
- The epidemiological transition described by Omran in 1971 moves populations from infectious disease dominance toward degenerative and man-made diseases.
- India carries a triple burden of high communicable disease, rising non-communicable disease and persisting undernutrition.
- NFHS-5 recorded child wasting at 19.3 percent and stunting at 35.5 percent among children under five.
- The natural history of disease runs through prepathogenesis and pathogenesis phases, guiding where prevention is applied.
- The agent, host and environment triad explains multifactorial causation of disease.
Mapped competency codes
- CM1.1
- CM1.2
- CM1.3
- CM1.4
- CM1.5
- CM1.6
- CM1.7
- CM1.8
- CM1.9
- CM1.10
Continue into the full chapter
This summary maps to CM1-concept-of-health-and-disease.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the WHO definition of health?
A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, from the WHO Constitution of 1948.
What are the three core functions of public health?
Assessment, policy development and assurance, as described by the Institute of Medicine and applied in the Indian PHC context.
What are the levels of prevention?
Primary prevention before disease onset, secondary prevention through early detection and treatment, and tertiary prevention to limit disability and rehabilitate.
What is meant by India's triple burden of disease?
India simultaneously carries high communicable disease, rapidly rising non-communicable disease and persisting undernutrition.
Continue reading
Cheat SheetsAll Community Medicine cheat sheets
Browse the complete authored set for this subject.
Open the complete revision pathway
Explore clinician-written learning resources, structured revision and practice across the MedNext platform.
Open in the MedNext appSee plans