Science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through organized community efforts.
These include sanitation, control of contagious infections, hygiene education, early diagnosis and preventive treatment, and adequate living standards. It requires understanding not only of epidemiology, nutrition, and antiseptic practices but also of social science. Historical public health measures included quarantine of leprosy victims in the Middle Ages and efforts to improve sanitation following the 14th-century plague epidemics. Population increases in Europe brought with them increased awareness of infant deaths and a proliferation of hospitals. Britain's Public Health Act of 1848 established a special public health ministry. In the U.S., public health is studied and coordinated on a national level by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ; internationally, the World Health Organization plays an equivalent role.