On Thu, 21 May 1998 21:04:46 -0400 someone wrote:

> Population health is about the determinants of health which impact on
> various aspects of people's lives such as their health behaviours,
> health beliefs and health services utilization.

I hate to be critical, but population health is NOT AT ALL about what you
stated.  Population health is about the social, economic, and political
forces, existing at the population level, that affect the health and
well-being of the population.  While in some instances it may describe what
you stated, the level of analysis has clearly moved beyond individual
behaviours and beliefs. For example, a person can do ALL the right
health things but be living within a society that is dysfunctional (such as
Ontario under the Harris regime) and be showing the health consequences of
the society -- to use a patently biased example.

See the CIAR work (though that is not without its flaws), and the literature
emerging from Health Canada.

Best wishes,

Dennis Raphael

p.s. I was really keen to contribute until I saw this definition.  Is this
REALLY what you meant to say?

>
> Please send your contributions for the Newsletter to [log in to unmask]


I'll still do it!! Thanks for the opportunity.

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Dennis Raphael, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Acting Director,
Masters of Health Science Program in Health Promotion
Department of Public Health Sciences
Graduate Department of Community Health
University of Toronto
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