Chapter 1 Annotations

Berridge, Virginia. (2016). Public Health: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford, United Kingdom. Retrieved from Oxford University Press.

This introduction of the public health field and its evolving history is used to show how important the overall general health of society is and how it came to be the field that it is today. Berridge explains how the field of public health is actually an umbrella term for the abundant positions and departments that reside under the term public health. Over time the interpretations and definitions of public health have changed and evolved, but what remains true is that the field of public health is still a broad topic that is interpreted differently for everyone. Change and evolution of the definitions of the public health field, and of populations in general, as described by Berridge, are significant in understanding what the field of public health actually is and what its goals should be on all levels. As the world becomes more advance and sifts towards reforms and policy changes, the public health field also reforms and shifts. These shifts guide where the field is headed and what the ultimate goals are; which is a healthy population. Most of these shifts are guided by the government, at all levels of public health, not just local and national. I believe that these shifts and reforms can be used in my research by relating to my topic and how government reforms are happening in some places in regards to my topic, as well as the pushback from community, which also happens often in the public health field. The importance of a healthy population as a whole relies on the public health field to continuously re-evaluate its goals and objectives, at the government level, but also at the community level as well.