International cooperation and health. Part I: Issues and concepts.

The world is increasingly shaped by powerful global forces, many of which have consequences for human health and the social, economic, and environmental factors that influence health are increasingly determined at a supranational level. As a result, local or national level efforts to influence health determinants can have only a limited impact and it is all too easy for the individual public health practitioner to feel powerless. Yet while public health practitioners, on their own, may indeed be comparatively powerless, together they can achieve a great deal. Part I of this glossary explores a range of issues that arise as they seek to make a difference.