ABSTRACT
Public health services are delivered through a range of settings and by a variety of providers, including government public health Workers and private sector public health consultants. This chapter is concerned with those services that are delivered to individuals in clinical settings but, when brought together to cover defined population groups, constitute a public health approach. It describes the interface between public health and clinical care, offering a conceptual framework and a historical perspective. The chapter offers a review of various fields where organised approaches to personal health care have led to public health achievements. The prevention of infectious diseases was one of the earliest public health concerns, and clinical services were an integral part of the strategy of containment. The control of sexually transmitted infections or diseases was one of the earliest global public health efforts.
