"Public Health" is fundamentally a multidisciplinary field that includes natural as well as social and cultural sciences.
On the basis of biomedical knowledge and in meaningful addition to it, quantitative methods, as in epidemiology or biostatistics, but also qualitative methods of social and cultural sciences are applied in order to collect health-relevant data, to uncover current and historical influences of society and environment on health and disease, to analyze their significance for the entire population and to develop population-related measures for prevention, health promotion, improved medical care, change of behavior and control of environmental conditions.
Accordingly, the goal of public health is to improve the physical and mental health status of the population through health-related initiatives in research, development, education, and outreach, as well as by advising national and international bodies. Research in "Public Health" provides the scientific basis necessary to achieve these goals.