From public health to public good: Toward universal wellbeing

Abstract

We aim to consolidate recent trends in public health into a reconceptualization of the field as public good. We build on several strands of theory, research and action to formulate a more impactful future for the field. Our argument comprises three main parts. In the first part, we describe the central components of the proposed public good: conditions of justice, experiences of mattering, and outcomes of subjective and objective wellbeing. In the second section, we identify continua of practices that paint a trajectory from traditional public health to ecological and participatory public health, to universal wellbeing framed as a public good. The continua are defined in terms of assumptions, practices and roles. Among others, these continua pertain to capabilities, scope of the field, ecological focus, timing of intervention, role of citizen, role of professional, role of settings and role of government. Finally, the third section introduces a series of strategies and recommendations to make the narrative of universal wellbeing as public good a reality.