Rahvastiku tervise seisundi mõjutamine positiivses suunas on rahvatervishoiu peamine ülesanne. ... Rahvastiku tervise seisund sõltub sisuliselt paljude üksikisikute terviseseisundist, kuid oluline on ka tervise kui ressursi jaotumine üksikisikute vahel. Seega ei ole rahvatervishoiu eesmärk saavutada pelgalt võimalikult kõrge keskmine eluiga, vaid vähendada ka eri gruppide vahelist ebavõrdsust tervises.
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Rahvastiku tervise mõiste tuleneb ingliskeelsest mõistest "population health", mida on defineeritud järgmiselt: „the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group”.
Whereas many interventions (e.g., much of medical care) focus exclusively on individuals, population health policy and research concentrate on the aggregate health of population groups like those in geographic units (cities, prisons) or other characteristics (ethnicity, religion, HMO membership). This focus is necessary because many determinants of health have their effect at a group level (air quality, education standards, Medicare policy, immunization) and because health differences across groups (men and women, rural and urban, black and white) are as important to population health outcomes and determinants as are differences between any two individuals. Therefore, population health research takes into account environmental and system variables that affect individuals, but it focuses on their impact on the health of the group, not the individuals themselves.
