Population and public health

Abstract

The role of public health is to contribute to the health of the public through assessment of health and health needs, policy formulation, and assurance of the availability of services. While the scope of a medical manager's work and training is different from that of a public health physician, most will often find that their work overlaps quite significantly, especially when the manager's influence starts to go beyond his or her own organisation. It is thus important for medical managers who contribute to the development of health systems, to understand key public health issues that face Australia in the coming years.