Old Public Health

Question 1

Old public health

Answer 1

Government actions that focused on changing the physical environment to prevent the spread of disease, such as providing safe water, sanitation and sewage disposal, improve nutrition, improved housing conditions and better work conditions

Question 2

Public Health

Answer 2

The ways in which government monitor, regulate and promote health and well-being and prevent illness

Question 3

What factors lead to the introduction of policies and practices associated with the ‘old public health’

Answer 3

Pressure was placed on government to take action to improve peoples health. This was due to the poor living conditions that existed at the time, access to clean water and sanitation facilities were minimal and little was known about good hygiene practices.Rubbish lifted the street which attracted huge numbers of rats and mice which carried disease. Overcrowded and poor housing was common; the quality and safety of food was poor and working conditions were dangerous.

Question 4

Health promotional

Answer 4

The process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. Health promotion therefore focuses on prevention rather than cure and uses the causes of diseases as the starting point rather than the disease itself

Question 5

Policies or practices they were introduced as part of the old public health and discuss how they contributed to improvements in Australia’s health status

Answer 5

• The establishment of government funded water and sewage systems and better sanitation- This provided people with clean water to drink and remove garbage waste from the streets, contributing to a reduction in deaths from infectious diseases such as diarrhoea, typhoid and Cholera
• Quarantine laws- prevented the arrival and transmission of infectious disease from other countries
• Better quality housing and fewer slums- Reduce deaths from respiratory diseases such as pneumonia and infectious diseases such as diarrhoea
• Improved working conditions-reduction in injuries
• Improved food and nutrition- improved nutrition resulting in better physical health and well-being as individuals had stronger immune systems aiding individuals to recover quickly from infectious and respiratory diseases

Question 6

The Discovery of vaccines

Answer 6

Good