Community medicine is a branch of medicine that focuses on the health of populations and communities. It is concerned with the prevention of disease, the determinants and natural history of disease in populations, and the influence of social, economic, and environmental factors on the health of communities. Community medicine offers an innovative model where healthcare workers actively go into their communities and stage interventions to address the health needs of the population.
Community health services are classified into categories including preventive health services such as chemoprophylaxis for Tuberculosis, cancer screening, and treatment of diabetes and hypertension; promotive health services such as health education, family planning, vaccination, and nutritional supplementation; and curative health services such as treatment of jiggers, lice infestation, Malaria, and Pneumonia.
Community health is a major field of study within the medical and clinical sciences which focuses on the maintenance, protection, and improvement of the health status of population groups and communities. It is a distinct field of study that may be taught within a separate school of public health or Preventive Healthcare. In the United States, community health is rooted within primary healthcare achievements, which aim to reduce risk factors and increase health promotion and prevention.
Community medicine is also known as public health or preventive medicine. It is different from clinical medicine, which focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of individual patients.
