We have argued, in various papers across this website, that we are currently experiencing a change of age. We return here to the question raised in the first paper : what are the implications for public health?
The historic public health task – that of preventing disease and promoting health – remains unchanged: it is the form which the challenge takes which changes, because this is, in some respects, unique to each age. In the 1970s, for example, environmental pollution loomed large in the minds of public health leaders. At the beginning of the 21st century, we need to work out how to prevent (or at least ameliorate) the harms likely to flow from climate change and rising oil costs. Equally, we need to seek out the potential health dividend that could be realised in terms of reduced obesity, improved well-being and greater social equity.
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