Comment

„Health is the greatest treasure; the joy of life, energy, self-confidence, cheerfulness and satisfaction results from it. It is a weapon giving us the possibility of fruitful work and service for family, for society, and for humanity.”

The author of this in-depth, multifaceted, complex concept of health, still relevant today, is the great Polish doctor, philosopher and thinker, for many years Professor and Rector of the Medical Academy of Warsaw, Marcin Kacprzak (1888-1968).

The ideas encapsulated in this definition can be found in all definitions of health that would appear later, including the most well-known: „a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO Constitution, 1948).

The authors of numerous modifications and descriptions of the term „health” have a common aim: to show the complexity of determinants of this desired state. Economic, legal, axiological, spiritual and other aspects appear, and the list still remains open.

Of huge significance for the performance of actions for health is the acknowledgement that „...enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being” (WHO Constitution).

Health as the right of everyone explicitly establishes the need for actions supporting health in the functioning of each democratic law-governed state.

The articles included in this issue of Postępy Nauk Medycznych (Progress in Medical Science) present selected examples of issues within public health that are carried out in the CMKP School of Public Health.

In the article by Maria Miller and Janusz Opolski, an outline of public health as a field of knowledge, science and practice is presented – its scope and also the dependence of the scope and directions of research on the health situation of societies. Particularly essential seem to be the references to the recommendations of the World Health Organization. The concept of the essential public health functions is presented, which as a result of the broad context of health factors means that the most characteristic feature of public health is its multisectoral and interdisciplinary nature.

The authors identify with the opinion that in public health the strategy of action and problem solving is health promotion, and the basic tool is epidemiology.

The next studies by Maria Miller and Anita Gębska-Kuczerowska present epidemiology as a method of measurement of the state of health of the community, and also a method enabling decisions concerning the choice of health priorities. Also an assessment of the epidemiological situation in Poland and some other countries relating to the main health problems is presented. A comparative analysis of the mortality rates wh

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