Public health

Introduction

Public health aims to improve wellbeing and prevent illness. It includes public health protection, health improvement and health care.

There are three main areas of public health:

  • Health protection: protecting the population’s health by ensuring that environmental risks are minimised.
  • Health improvement: helping people to improve their own health, and therefore preventing illnesses from developing in the first place.
  • Health care: making sure that everyone has access to the high quality health services and medicines that they need, when they need them.

See the videos and case studies to find out more.

Roles

Use the links below to explore more about different Public health roles on the Health Careers website run by Health Education England.

Videos and case studies

What is public health?

A career as a Public Health Manager

A career as public health Knowledge Manager

A career as a Public Health Development Worker

A career in public health as an Exercise Manager

Further information

Public Health England

Chartered Institute of Environmental Health

Day in the life of a Health Visitor

Public Health Practitioner’s Education and Training Directory

Health Careers Course Finder