Health Promotion and Public Health

The purpose of this chapter is to explore the nature of public health and apply this to contemporary nursing practice. Public health is defined by the World Health Organisation as (WHO, 202) as: 'the art and science of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organised efforts of society'.
The key features of contemporary public health will be explored in more detail throughout this chapter, focusing on how health and public health are conceptualised, as well as the nursing role in health protection, health improvement and the provision of high-quality care.
According to RCN (2020), nurses play an essential role in identifying and minimising the impact of illness. Public health is considered everyone's responsibility and all nurses (and nursing associates in England) and midwives in the UK are responsible for promoting health and using their nursing skills to provide meaningful public health interventions across all health and social care settings, as part of the provision of person-centred, holistic nursing care.
Our professional responsibility is outlined clearly in The Code, which outlines the professional standards that nurses, midwives and nursing associates (in England) must uphold (NMC, 2018a) alongside specific guidance for nursing associates. It is vital that all nurses, nurse associates and midwives understand and embed public health principles and practice within their work in order to comply with NMC standards of proficiency.