t individual health.
Public health policy at the national level is required, because the factors affecting individual health are, in many instances, pervasive in society. Development of an acceptable level of public health within a large and complex society such as those of the United States and Canada
. . . requires and interpretation of the nature of today's health problem. . . . Its focus is on the interconnection between "causes" and illnesses and the ways they affect each other, as well as the linkages among "causes" and among illnesses. All these ties suggest the plausibility of viewing today's health problem as a response to modern environments, and one therefore amenable to improvement through public policy measures (Milio, 1981, p. 9).
Contemporary public health policies are determined, at least in part, in the context of costs and accountability. These concepts were in place in ancient Rome, where physicians were held accountable for the effects of their "ignorance . . .
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