Introduction

to
Community Medicine
Elfatih Mohamed Malik (MBBS, MD)
Assistant Professor
Department of Community Medicine
Faculty of Medicine
University of Khartoum
Chikungunya
Iceberg phenomena
Pakistani FETP graduates (Dr. Furgan, and Dr. Muhammad Bilal Khan) obtaining a
sample of water from a water pump suspected as the water source responsible for
causing diarrhea among children (Murree district , Punjab province, Pakistan, 2013)
A frontal view of an adult bedbug, Cimex lectularius, as it was
in the process of ingesting a blood meal from the arm of a
voluntary human host
(CDC/ Harvard University, Dr. Gary Alpert, Urban Pests - Integrated Pest Management (IPM); Dr.
Harold Harlan; Richard Pollack)
An image, captured by CDC
Epidemiologist, Patricia
Bessler, depicts CDC Ebola
Response Infection
Prevention and Control (IPC)
team member Esra Toussaint
(RT) advising clinic staff on
proper IPC procedures, in an
urban clinic, in Freetown,
Sierra Leone, May 18, 2015.
8
Malaria officer in S. Darfur challenging the challenge
 Community Medicine Curriculum
• Community health
• Environmental and occupational health
• Epidemiology
• Biostatistics
• Primary health care
• Research methods
• Communicable and non-communicable diseases
• Rural residency
• … etc
 First year
• Sem. 1: Community health ( 2 credit hours)

• Sem. 2: Environmental and occupational health (3

credit hours)

• 18 weeks (9 weeks for each)

• Assessment (50 Best of four exam questions by

the end of each semester
 Community Health
Module objectives
1. Understand community approach to health
2. List the public health functions and understand public health acts
3. Define health and mention its determinants
4. Identify the biological and genetics determinants influencing the health and
disease process in individuals, social groups and community.
5. Determine the socioeconomic factors affecting the health status in
individuals, social groups and community.
6. Recognize the importance of behavior aspects in health, prevention and
treatment seeking behavior
7. Understand SDGs and role of other sectors in health and development
8. List the indicators of health status of the population
9. Describe the census process and understand the population pyramids
10. Recognize the importance of vital registration
11. Interpret the birth and death certificate
12. Understand population genetics
 What is health?

‘A state of complete physical, mental

and social well-being of an individual
and not merely an absence of disease
or infirmity’

WHO 1948
 Why health is a world-wide goal?
• Enjoying a state of health:
– Is a fundamental human right
– Is the essence of productive life
– Is the integral part of development
– Is central to the concept of quality of life
– Is world-wide social goal

• Health is not an end in itself but the means to

another end namely to lead socially and
economically productive life.
The Sustainable Development Goals
What are the elements underpinning SDGs?
 What is Community Medicine?
• Community medicine is the branch of
medicine, which deals with the study of
provision of preventive, promotive, curative,
rehabilitative and evaluative services to the
community at large, through an organized
comprehensive health care delivery system…

• Previously known as: Hygiene, preventive

medicine, social medicine and public heath…
 What is Community Medicine?
• Specialty which deals with population/
community health…
• Any medical doctor who engage in
training, research, assessment of
population health, planning,
implementation and evaluation of
health/ public services in the field…
 Community approach to health
• Identification and quantification of the health problems, health
determinants and risk factors (Community diagnosis).

• Identification of needs of the defined population and

development of policies and strategies

• Provision of comprehensive health care package

• Evaluation of the services and the individual and community

health
 Core Public Health Functions

 Assessment

 Policy development

 Assurance
5 stars medical doctor
Care giver

Communicator

Community leader

Manager

Researcher

Community-oriented medical doctor

References