Child public health - A new basis for child health workers

To treat and alleviate diseases in children is an important task that demands extensive knowledge, skills and training. It forms the basis of our understanding of sick children and their needs, and its quality is a measure of the efforts of society to care for its citizens. With the health of children, however, a much broader view must be taken, including other aspects of children's well-being than their diseases and their medical care. To reach the goals set by international organizations and national governments for the populations' health, policies based on public health ideas and functions must be vigorously pursued. Although these actions are valid for the whole population, there are major reasons why children should be seen as particularly important. Merging the broad aspects of health and public health functions with children's special needs creates child public health, which aims to place the health of children and adolescents in its full social, economic and political context. It is not a new speciality; rather it is a counterbalance towards the fullness of health. Its activities - in teaching, research and service - should be practical and relevant and include knowledge and experience from many professions and sciences. With such a broad competence, child public health is fit to take on a wide range of child health issues, be it healthy public policy for children and adolescents, support for vulnerable groups, education and training or creating centres of relevance for research and surveillance of children's and adolescents' health.