Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, 722 W 168th St, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Am J Public Health. 2010 Jan;100(1):54-63. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2009.163956.
We trace the shifting definitions of the American public health profession's mission as a social reform and science-based endeavor. Its authority coalesced in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as public health identified itself with housing, sanitation, and labor reform efforts. The field ceded that authority to medicine and other professions as it jettisoned its social mission in favor of a science-based identity. Understanding the potential for achieving progressive social change as it moves forward will require careful consideration of the industrial, structural, and intellectual forces that oppose radical reform and the identification of constituencies with which professionals can align to bring science to bear on the most pressing challenges of the day.
我们追溯了美国公共卫生专业的使命作为社会改革和基于科学的努力的不断变化的定义。它的权威在 19 世纪末和 20 世纪初形成，当时公共卫生将自己与住房、卫生和劳工改革努力联系在一起。随着公共卫生领域放弃其社会使命，转而支持基于科学的身份，它将这一权威让给了医学和其他专业。要想在向前推进的过程中实现渐进式社会变革的潜力，就需要仔细考虑那些反对激进改革的产业、结构和知识力量，并确定专业人士可以与之结盟的利益相关者，以便将科学应用于当今最紧迫的挑战。
