SOCIAL HYGIENE

Author: Hristo Petkov

Preserving and protecting the health on personal and population level represents the mainstream of the socialist society, which, has as an ultimate goal a versatile, harmonious development of man - together, with a multitude of material and cultural welfare for the whole population based on intensification and multiplication of industry. This is a regular phenomenon, being in association with the perfect social, economical and ecological progress. As a result, the evolving concept of public health stands on a foundation of socialist state power, with: financing and delivering many socio-economical and medical enterprises; towards providing optimal physical and mental health for the working class in the society; aiming at full sanitation of the customs and mentality for the people, etc.

The medical science in a socialist society takes part in the comprehensive study of the influence, which, the material and cultural way of life renders on the health of the nation, its physical recreation, constructive potential and longevity. The subject of the discipline social hygiene includes the following problem-tasks orientated with the organization of health care:

1. Analysing the laws and matters determining the correlation of public health /i.e., the subject of the discipline social hygiene/ with the social, biological, clinical and other factors and conditions.

2. Argumenting a theoretical framework for the foundations of socialist health care.

3. Studying the historical development of public health.

4. Analysing the status and trends of the main demographic processes.

5. Formulating theoretical and practical measures for further advance of the system of health care, as well as, its subsystems.

6. Studying two-way organization of public health - first, as health care influencing the society and second, the latter having a reverse order on the elements of the former.

Social hygiene as a scientific discipline accomplish its theoretical and pracrical problems in accord with other natural and social science branches, such as: sociology, economics, history, philosophy, etc. The interaction, with so complex modelling mechanism is a prerequisite for formation of the core of a discipline, and, social hygiene is in a constant process of innovation. On the other hand, the relationship between medical and hygiene sciences - with their sisterhood exchange of sources and information - is another asset with a reflection on the subject of social hygiene. The prevention, treatment and dyspensarisation of diseases makes a link towards defining a system of public health, namely: multilevel and multistrata architecture construction with a field dimension.

The place and importance of social hygiene as a discipline of medical education has been debated and will continue to attract attention in a scientific parlance. So far, a physician must have a general knowledge on the theoretical and organizationl foundations of health care. This gives a good orientation for further work in the medical practice and becomes a principle guide for a sound worldwiew in a socialist state and sociaety.

The author wish to express his gratitude for the immense help which was received during the process of writing this book from all the members of the Department of Social Hygiene & History of Medicine, High Medical Institute - Sofia.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Theoretical foundation of social hygiene

History of medicine and public health

Sanitary statistics - the health of the population

Health care organization

Medical ethics