Public Health has been defined by the RGO (2003) as ‘The science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts of society’. These efforts consist of collective measures in various areas, necessary to improve public health and to maximize the outcome of care on public health with the ultimate goal of enhancing quality of life. Although interventions may be very diverse, they should all be firmly based in theory and evidence. The cluster Public Health wants to contribute to this scientific base; to translate theory and evidence into tailored solutions for societal health problems; to develop instruments and tools for sustainable and effective interventions, and to deliver these solutions effectively to individuals, organizations and national bodies. The cluster Public Health aims to develop new models, theory, methodology and tools for the enhancement of Quality of Life. Sustainable change is assumed to presuppose equity in health and health care, and the development of evidence base and best practices.
The cluster Innovation of Care consists of seven programmes:
- Design and analysis of studies in health sciences
- Occupational epidemiology and health
- Normative aspects of biomedical and public health technologies
- Health communication
- Theory and practice in health promotion
- Public Health Genomics
- Comparative health