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the care of the body in health and disease, will, if practised, bear immediate
fruit in increased vigour and effective living. Not only to-morrow
but also to-day stands to gain by following the way of understanding;
the influence of an instructed public opinion will increasingly be apparent
in the home and the workshop, no less than in providing that necessary
dynamic background for all constructive legislation. If close co-operation
between laboratory workers and medical practitioners is vital for the
full benefits of our present knowledge to be made available for the
prevention and control of disease, equally necessary is the co-operation
of every citizen in permitting such knowledge to influence habit and
practice.
This end has been kept steadily in view throughout the past year in
our Public Health Education. In September a booklet explaining the
need for this work was printed and distributed. Its scope will be
appreciated even by a glance at the titles under which the subjects of
lectures are grouped, viz., "Concerning the Child", "Concerning
Youth", "The Body in Health and Disease", "The Cycle of Life",
"Through the Sciences to Health", "Practical Hygiene", "Great
Moments in Medical Discovery", and the series of general lectures. This
booklet is outstanding in its range and vision, and may well provide a
landmark in the development of Public Health activities, which will be
significant to future observers of the way in which an alert and pioneering
Health Authority met the urgent needs of its day. The number of lectures
given is proof of the growing appreciation of the opportunities offered
for the consideration of great issues. It is gratifying to note that with
many organisations health lectures have become a regular feature of their
programmes, and in many cases we are told that the audience is always
larger for these lectures than for other subjects. Especially encouraging
are the requests for talks to young people's clubs, Girl Guides and Rangers.
Alongside this interest in the subject-matter of the lectures are the
friendly relationships established between the speaker and the audiences
in the discussions which always follow the lectures. These personal
contacts are as important in the imparting of knowledge as the knowledge
itself, and form a bridge between learning and practice firmly based on
that mutual respect and affection which is so essential in every kind of
human relationship and holds so rich a promise of healthy development.
In public health education the scientific and the human blend to make
a perfect whole.