Health Science

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Health science is the applied science dealing with health, and it includes many subdisciplines. See also List of academic disciplines#Health sciences.

There are two approaches to health science: the study and research of the human body and health-related issues to understand how humans (and animals) function, and the application of that knowledge to improve health and to prevent and cure diseases.

Health research builds upon the basic sciences of biology, chemistry, and physics as well as a variety of multidisciplinary fields (for example medical sociology). Some of the other primarily research-oriented fields that make exceptionally significant contributions to health science are biochemistry, epidemiology, and genetics. See also life sciences and List of academic disciplines#Life sciences.

Applied health sciences also endeavor to better understand health, but in addition they try to directly improve the health of individuals and of people in general. Some of these are: biomedical engineering, biotechnology, nursing, nutrition, pharmacology, pharmacy, public health, psychology, physical therapy, and medicine. The provision of services to improve people's health is referred to as health care (#Application of health-related knowledge (health care)). See also Medicine#Branches of medicine.

The health sciences industry, a multi-billion dollar buiness sector, is a cross-section of the life sciences and the health care and medical diagnostics industries.

Acquisition of health-related knowledge Medical research is basic research and applied research conducted to improve the evaluation of new treatments for both safety and efficacy in what are termed clinical trials, or to develop new treatments (referred to as Pre-clinical development).

The increased longevity of humans over the past century is due in large part to medical research. Among the major advancements in medicine have been vaccines for measles and polio, insulin treatment for diabetes, classes of antibiotics for treating a host of maladies, medication for high blood pressure, improved treaments for AIDS, statins and other treatments for atherosclerosis, new surgical techniques such as microsurgery, and increasingly successful treatments for cancer. New, beneficial tests and treatments are expected as a result of the human genome project. Many challenges remain, however, including the appearance of antibiotic resistance and the obesity epidemic.

Application of health-related knowledge (health care) Health care is the prevention, treatment, and management of illness and the preservation of mental and physical well being through the services offered by the Medicine, nursing, and allied health professions. According to the World Health Organisation, health care embraces all the goods and services designed to promote health, including “preventive, curative and palliative interventions, whether directed to individuals or to populations”. The organized provision of such services may constitute a health care system. This can include a specific governmental organization such as the National Health Service in the UK, or a cooperation across the National Health Service and Social Services as in Shared Care.

There are a large number of health professions. The terms medicine or biomedicine, and medical doctor or M.D. refer to the dominant conventional practices in the West. There are a wide range of traditional areas of health care. The most common areas are: medicine, nursing, midwifery, and various forms of therapy to supplement the healing process and restore proper activity (e.g. Dietetics, play therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and Respiratory therapy).

Like health science in general, health care includes both the study and application of preventing and curing human diseases and disorders. Medical Physicians include physicians and surgery.

There are many different branches of medicine; the other health care professions also have specialties or focus on specific populations or settings of care. Public health studies the effect of environmental factors such as available health care resources on the health of the general population, often focusing on particular populations, such as mothers and children. Dietitians educate people about proper nutrition, particularly specific dietary needs of populations such as people with diabetes, breastfeeding women, and people with celiac disease. Other less common medical areas include first aid and triage.

Dental health has grown in importance in recent decades making dentistry a major field of health sciences. psychotherapy, hospice care, home care, nutrition, medical social work, alternative medicine, pharmacology, and toxicology are all considered part of health science.

Veterinary medicine is the health science dedicated exclusively to the care of animals. Veterinary medicine is involved in preventing and curing animal diseases and disorders, inspecting animal originated food (like milk and meat) and animal husbandry.

Health practices Conventional Western practices

Allopathic medicine
Athletic training
Dentistry
Dietetics
Epidemiology
Genetic counseling
Medical physics
Medicine
Medical technology
Nursing
Nutrition
Occupational therapy
Optometry
Osteopathic medicine (Note: Osteopathy, as practiced in most countries other than the USA, is listed under complementary and alternative practices below)
Pharmacology
Physical therapy
Psychology, including Behavioural, Clinical, Health, Medical, Neuropsychology and others)
Psychoanalysis
Psychotherapy, including Cognitive therapy
Public health
Physical education
Speech-Language Pathology
Surgery, including anaesthesia
Veterinary medicine

Complementary and alternative medicine

Alexander Technique
Chiropractic
Dorn method
Herbalism
Holistic health
Homeopathy
Hypnosis
Massage therapy
Natural medicine
Naturopathic medicine
Orthomolecular medicine
Osteopathy (Note: Osteopathic medicine as practiced in the USA is listed under traditional western practices above)

Spiritually-based healing

Christian Science
Faith healing
Johrei
Maharishi Vedic Medicine
Reiki
Shamanism

Traditional medicine and folk medicine

Ayurveda
Folk medicine
Medical herbalism
Native American traditional healing
Shamanism
Traditional Chinese medicine, including acupuncture
Traditional Korean medicine

Health practices of historical interest

Blood letting
Heroic medicine
Magnet therapy
Medieval medicine
Patent medicine
Phrenology
Trepanation

Contemporary themes Because health science deals with human life, issues of medical ethics, an important area of ethics, arise frequently. Medical ethics includes questions on topics such as a patient's right to privacy. Euthanasia, abortion, human cloning, stem cell research and genetic engineering are especially controversial issues directly related to health science.

History of health science The foundations for the Health Sciences fields are as old as the human race. Humans have always been in need of solutions to address illness, injury, and various health related issues such as childbirth. With modern technology and the backing of the pure sciences, the scientific accuracy of these fields has greatly improved. Nevertheless, many cultures have used and continue to use various herbs and other culturally specific solutions to help solve health problems that may or may not be backed by any scientific support.

See also Main list: List of basic health science topics

Biomedical research
Biomedical engineering
Biomedical technology
Biomedical informatics
Evidence-based medicine
Health economics
History of medicine
Medical informatics
Medical ethics
Pharmaceutical industry
Preventive medicine
Publicly-funded health care
Public health
Henderson Health Sciences Magnet Middle School

External links and references

Links to Health Professions Websites
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
The US National Library of Medicine

References

Health Sciences
The School of Health Sciences (combining the academic groups: Nursing and Physiotherapy) ... Nursing & Physiotherapy. Nursing & Physiotherapy (formerly The School of Health ...

Health Sciences
Undergraduate Study. We offer a range of undergraduate programmes that will provide you with of the necessary clinical and personal skills needed to become a successful health care ...

Department of Health Sciences, The University of York
Offer education, training and research for the health, nursing and social care sectors. Includes prospectuses and leaflets to download in PDF format.

Intute: Health and Life Sciences
Health and Life Sciences gateway ... Welcome to the Health and Life Sciences pages of Intute. We are a free online service providing you with access to the very best web resources ...

University of Ulster - Faculty of Life&Health Sciences
The Faculty of Life & Health Sciences is made up of six academic schools, a Research Graduate School and an Institute of ...

Health Sciences and Practice Subject Centre ...
Welcome to our website ... News Learners in the Co-creation of Knowledge: Call for contributions and delegate registration August 05, 2008

Swansea University - Health Science
Not all members of staff are displayed here. Some staff members may exercise their right to opt out under the data protection act, and are therefore not displayed.

BBC - Schools Science Clips - Health and growth
An interactive simulation in which children aged 6-7 can make decisions about how much food, water, rest and exercise a human needs to survive.

Life and Health Sciences
No Summary ... The School of Life and Health Sciences at Aston is acknowledged as one of the leading centres of health sciences within the UK with an outstanding reputation for ...

School of Health Sciences - SCHOOL OF HEALTH SCIENCES - University of ...
Excellence Rating for Allied Health Professionals and Nurses in Liverpool (Sunday Times, 2nd October 2005) "The School of Health Sciences delivers high quality programmes with up ...