Nutritional Medicine in the Publc Health System

849 Words4 Pages
Public health encompasses protecting and improving the health of communities through coordinated efforts of governments, private and voluntary organisations and individuals. Nutritional medicine professionals contribute to public health through each of these channels. They develop policies and programs within public health nutrition, are involved in associations, as well as educate and motivate individuals in private practices. Their purpose is to improve the communities or individuals overall nutritional status. Increases in popularity of complementary therapies such as nutrition, and focuses of government policy on prevention, indicate nutritional medicine may become more relevant in public health in the future. Nutritional Medicine is the use of food and supplements for health promotion, disease prevention, and medicinal and therapeutic effects. The scope of nutritional medicine includes nutraceuticals, dietary therapy and lifestyle therapy (Nutrition Australia 2012). The role of nutritionists is to: • establish guidelines for the delivery of quality health care services to the public • defend public health and safety • protect the public interest • promote informed health care choices (Australian Natural Therapists Association 2012) They can assist with the management and prevention of conditions such as diabetes, food allergies, cancers, gastro-intestinal diseases, and obesity. The public health system plans and implements policies, programs, projects and services to minimize health risk, promote health and reduce health inequality. Public health nutrition is an important aspect of public health. Intervention management (needs assessment, planning, strategy design, implementation and evaluation) is the core function of public health professionals in Australia (Hughes 2003). They assess the needs of the community and plan, instruct, and evaluate
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