Chronic Disease and the Shifting Focus of Public Health: Is Prevention Still a Political Lightweight?

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dc.contributor.authorMayes, Rick
dc.contributor.authorOliver, Thomas R.
dc.date.accessioned2019-08-14T15:07:19Z
dc.date.available2019-08-14T15:07:19Z
dc.date.issued2012
dc.description.abstractWhy is it so politically difficult to obtain government investment in public health initiatives that are aimed at addressing chronic disease? This article examines the structural disadvantage faced by those who advocate for public health policies and practices to reduce chronic disease related to people's unhealthy lifestyles and physical environments. It identifies common features that make it difficult to establish and maintain initiatives to prevent or reduce costly illness and physical suffering: (1) public health benefits are generally dispersed and delayed; (2) benefactors of public health are generally unknown and taken for granted; (3) the costs of many public health initiatives are concentrated and generate opposition from those who would pay them; and (4) public health often clashes with moral values or social norms. The article concludes by discussing the importance of a new paradigm, “health in all policies,” that targets the enormous health and economic burdens associated with chronic conditions and asserts a need for new policies, practices, and participation beyond the confines of traditional public health agencies and services.
dc.description.urihttp://jhppl.dukejournals.org/content/37/2/181.abstract
dc.identifierhttps://doi.org/10.13016/rrgw-y9le
dc.identifier.citationMayes, Rick and Oliver, Thomas R. (2012) Chronic Disease and the Shifting Focus of Public Health: Is Prevention Still a Political Lightweight? Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 37 (2). pp. 181-200.
dc.identifier.issn0361-6878
dc.identifier.otherEprint ID 3871
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/24389
dc.subjectPolicy
dc.subjectChronic Illness & Diseases
dc.titleChronic Disease and the Shifting Focus of Public Health: Is Prevention Still a Political Lightweight?
dc.typeArticle

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