The Australian Public Health System

Nutritional Medicine is an alternative medicine therapy which centres on the belief that nutrients are the cornerstone for good health and wellbeing (Meldrum 1993). The practice of Nutritional Medicine uses an holistic approach to health and wellness, focussing on nutritional and environmental factors to treat illness, and essentially remedying with 'food as medicine'. This approach is by and large in contrast to a conventional medicine approach of using drugs or surgery to treat illness (Meldrum 1993). Nutrition services are employed in both a clinical and public health setting. Public health is commonly defined as the organised efforts of society to promote, protect, and restore the public's health (Fleming & Parker 2012, p. vii - viii). While a clinical approach to medicine is focussed on treatment and management of an individual patient, public health targets entire populations, aiming for health and awareness across the community (Figure 1.0). As a Public Health Nutritional Medicine practitioner, the ambition is to prevent occurrence of disease through public awareness and education on the subject. This essay will look at how Nutritional Medicine fits within the Australian public health system.

Figure 1.0: an overview of the functions of public health.

Primary functions Assess health of populations Monitor health

Evaluate health risks and benefits

Assess health inequalities

Protect the public from threats to health Prepare for threats to health

Respond to threats to health

Control and mitigate risks to health

Promote health and prevent disease, disability and injury of populations Promote health and wellbeing

Prevent the occurrence of disease, disability and injury

Detect disease, disability or injury in its early stages

Instrumental functions Ensure public health capability Develop and maintain the public health workforce

Develop and maintain public health infrastructure

Build public health partnerships

Build the evidence base for public health Conduct public health research

Evaluate public health interventions

The role of a Public Health Nutritionist is specialist and extensive (NSA 2007, p. 2). The major nutrition related issues within Australian communities are fruit, vegetable, salt and fat intake, breastfeeding, food security, Indigenous nutrition, and overweight and obesity. Addressing these issues, practitioners work within communities, health services, all levels of government agencies, research, food industries, and nutrition and disease prevention related promotion services. Registered Public Nutritionists are required to be competent, have acquired education and training at a tertiary level, majoring in nutrition, and