Encyclopedia of Public Health (A-G)

362 Pages·2002·2.962 MB·English

by  Lester Breslow

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Encyclopedia of
Public Health
Editorial Board
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Lester Breslow, University of California at Los Angeles,
School of Public Health
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Bernard D. Goldstein, Graduate School of Public
Health, University of Pittsburgh
Lawrence W. Green, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention
C. William Keck, Akron, Ohio, Health Department
John M. Last, University of Ottawa
Michael McGinnis, The Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation
ii
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Encyclopedia of
Public Health
Edited by Lester Breslow
Volume 1
A-C
Copyright © 2002 by Macmillan Reference USA, an imprint of the Gale Group
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the Publisher.
Macmillan Reference USA
1633 Broadway
New York, NY 10019
Macmillan Reference USA
Gale Group
27500 Drake Road
Farmington Hills, MI 48331-3535
Gale Group and Design is a trademark used herein under license.
Library of Congress Catalog in Publication Data
Encyclopedia of public health / edited by Lester Breslow.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–02–865354–8 (set : hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 0–02–865350–5
(v. 1 : alk. paper) — ISBN 0–02–865351–3 (v. 2 : alk. paper) — ISBN 0–02–
865352-1 (v. 3 : alk. paper) — ISBN 0–02–865353–X (v. 4 : alk. paper)
1. Public health—Encyclopedias. I. Breslow, Lester.
RA423 .E53 2001
362.l’03—dc21 2002031501
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Preface............................... vii
Introduction .......................... ix
List of Articles ......................... xii
List of Contributors ................. xxxiii
Encyclopedia of Public Health ............ 1
Appendix .......................... 1335
Annotated Bibliography .............. 1361
Outline of Contents .................. 1373
Index .............................. 1393
v
Editorial and Production Staff
Project Editor, Ken Wachsberger
Associate Editor, Michael J. McGandy
Contributing Editor, Monica Hubbard
Assistant Editor, Deirdre Graves
Editorial Assistants, Barbara J. van Orden, Beth Richardson
Product Design Manager, Kenn Zorn; Art Director, Jennifer Wahi
Composition Manager, Mary Beth Trimper; Assistant Manager, Evi Seoud
Imaging and Multimedia Content Manager, Barbara Yarrow; Supervisor,
Randy Bassett; Project Manager, Robyn Young; Coordinator, Pam Reed;
Cataloger, Dave Oblender; Specialist, Dan Newell
Permissions Manager, Maria Franklin; Specialist, Margaret Chamberlain;
Assistant, Lori Hines
Data Capture Services Manager, Ron Montgomery; Project Administrator,
Gwen Tucker
Copyeditors, Peter Jaskowiak, Carol Holmes, Dorothy B. Kachouh
Proofreaders, Carol Holmes, Peter Jaskowiak, Gina J. Magadia-McGandy,
Ned McLeroy, Gina Misiroglu, Kathy Moreau, Gregory Teague
Indexing Manager, Sue Kelsch; Indexer, Victoria Baker
MACMILLAN REFERENCE USA
Publisher, Elly Dickason
Editor in Chief, Hélène G. Potter
Preface
The Encyclopedia of Public Health was designed phy, epidemiology, and biostatistics; basic medical
to offer the lay reader information about impor- sciences such as microbiology, physiology, phar-
tant aspects of the sciences, arts, practical skills, macology, and toxicology; physical sciences such
organization, essential functions, and historical as physics and chemistry; engineering; social and
traditions of the field. It is intended specifically for behavioral sciences; and clinical sciences such as
general readers with a high school or college level those that deal with communicable diseases, can-
education, although many professional workers, cer, and heart disease. Mature professions such as
trainees, and students of public health will find medicine, nursing, dentistry, and law, as well as
much here of use and interest to them. newly emerged professions such as psychology,
nutrition, and dietetics are all engaged in public
Public health is one of the essential institu-
health. All are described and discussed in this
tions of society. It exists to promote, protect,
encyclopedia.
preserve, and restore the good health of all the
people, and it achieves these ends largely through
There are more than 900 entries in the Encyclo-
collective action. The programs, services, organi-
pedia of Public Health, all arranged in alphabetical
zations, and institutions devoted to public health
order for easy reference. The entries range in
are concerned with the health needs of entire
length from several thousand words on each of the
populations. Professionals engaged in the field
most important sectors and disciplines of public
regard it as an organized effort directed at improv-
health, to a hundred words or so that define basic
ing the health of populations by assuring the con-
elements of the field. All entries were written by
ditions in which people can be healthy. It thus
experts, authorities in their respective fields. As
differs from the healing arts such as medicine,
much as possible, however, the authors have used
dentistry, nursing, and pharmacy that aim their
language that is free of jargon and which should be
services at the health of individuals. Public health
easily accessible to the public at large, whether in
emphasizes health promotion, the prevention and
the high school, community college, or public
early detection of disease, disability, and prema-
library environments. There are bibliographies to
ture death. Many scientific disciplines, technolo-
gies, and practical skills are involved in public guide readers to sources of further information
health, which can be viewed as a social institution, and exhaustive cross-references to help them to
a collective discipline (one that focuses a large related topics.
group of discrete disciplines on public health), and
The back matter features “basic documents,” a
a practice.
collection of some of the most essential statements
The component parts of public health include of lasting historical importance about public health,
a wide array of intellectual disciplines, professions, as well as some of the epochal writings about
trades, and practical skills: vital statistics, demogra- public health, which are reproduced in whole or in
vii
PREFACE
part. In addition, there is an annotated bibliog- particular, we thank Elly Dickason for her initial
raphy of other basic texts. advice and encouragement; Hélène Potter for keep-
ing us going when the going got tough; and Bar-
An outline of contents appears at the back of
Volume 4. Its purpose is to regroup articles in bara van Orden, Deirdre Graves, and Michael
broad topical categories, thereby offering teachers McGandy for all their hard work.
and readers alike an informed map of the field. A
comprehensive index provides yet another avenue Many contributors wish to acknowledge the
for lay readers to access the mass of information help they received from family members and col-
contained in these four volumes. leagues; we express our gratitude to them all.
The editors thank the staff at Macmillan Refer-
ence for their support throughout this project. In LESTER BRESLOW
viii
Introduction
Public health consists of the activities of a services command more that a tiny fraction of the
society that protect and advance the health of its total national expenditure on medical and health
people. Public health resources consist of a set of services—typically less than 5 percent of the health
scientific disciplines, practical skills, and beliefs budget from all public and private sources is de-
(values) that are directed to the maintenance and voted to public health. In the world’s poorest
improvement of people’s health through collec- nations, where the public health problems are
tive or social action; as well as the political will that most oppressive, the proportion is seldom as much
is necessary to mobilize resources and people in as 1 or 2 percent of all health expenditures. Many
support of the agencies that carry out the activi- of the poorest nations spend far more of their
ties. Typically, though not in all nations, public slender resources on armaments—sometimes to
health operates at local, state, national, and in- be used against their own people—than on public
ternational levels—with coordination, collabora- health services.
tion, and interaction among these four levels.
It takes many forms, including governmental, In focusing on the health of populations, pub-
nongovernmental (voluntary), and professional. lic health differs from the healing arts such as
medical, nursing, and dental practice, which re-
Public health work is conducted by teams
spond to the health needs of individuals. From
that include physicians, nurses, dentists,
earliest times society has thrown out two arms for
epidemiologists, social workers, behavioral scien-
health; one to protect its people (e.g., migration in
tists, health inspectors, sanitary engineers, statisti-
search of better food supply), and the other to care
cians, administrators, supporting clerical and sec-
for the sick. Beginning with the Industrial Revolu-
retarial staff, and others. Efficient and effective
tion, when people flocked from the countryside
public health practice demands a high degree of
into the cities for factory work, public health con-
harmonious collaboration among teams that vary
centrated on combating the communicable dis-
greatly in size, complexity, levels of skill and ex-
eases such as tuberculosis and enteric infections
pertise, financial support, and political commit-
that flourished in the crowded, growing urban
ment to the perceived importance of public health.
areas. Remarkable success has attended those ef-
National leaders from Benjamin Disraeli and forts, though much remains to be done, especially
Otto von Bismarck to Franklin D. Roosevelt and in developing countries. With the decline of com-
John F. Kennedy have eloquently expressed the municable diseases (despite occurrence of some
belief that public health is an important element, new ones, such as HIV/AIDS) and the generation
indeed is at the foundation, of national security. of a new lifestyle during the twentieth century,
Protecting the health of a nation’s people is as noncommunicable diseases such as heart disease
important as protecting against invasion by a for- and cancer have expanded—in the developing
eign adversary. Yet in no nation do public health world as well as in industrialized countries. Other
ix