Public Health: What It Is and How It Works, 6th Edition

Using a straightforward systems approach, Public Health: What It Is and How It Works explores the inner workings of the complex, modern U.S. public health system―what it is, what it does, how it works, and why it is important. The book covers the origins and development of the modern public health system; the relationship of public health to the overall health system; how the system is organized at the federal, state, and local levels; its core functions and how well these are currently being addressed; evidence-based practice and an approach to program planning and evaluation for public health interventions; public health activities such as epidemiological investigation, biomedical research, environmental assessment, policy development, and more.

Table of Contents

PART I: PUBLIC HEALTH: WHAT IT IS AND HOW IT WORKS
Chapter 1: What Is Public Health?
Chapter 2: Measuring Population Health
Chapter 3: Public Health and the Health System
Chapter 4: Law, Government, and Public Health
Chapter 5: Twenty-First Century Community Public Health Practice
Chapter 6: Public Health Workforce
Chapter 7: Managing Public Health Infrastructure
Chapter 8: Managing Public Health Interventions
Chapter 9: Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response
Chapter 10: Public Health Practice: Future Challenges

PART II: CASE STUDIES
Case Study 1: History of Public Health in Chicago
Case Study 2: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Case Study 3: Mandatory Premarital Screening for Antibody to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Case Study 4: Massive Outbreak of Antimicrobial-Resistant Salmonellosis Traced to Contaminated Milk
Case Study 5: Ragsdale U.S. Supreme Court Case
Case Study 6: Outcome Oriented Perinatal Surveillance
Case Study 7: University of Illinois Hospital
Case Study 8: Gulf Oil Spill Aftermath
Case Study 9: Bioterrorist Attack on Food: A Tabletop Exercise
Case Study 10: Early 21st-Century Public Health Achievements
Case Study 11: Developing a Program Intervention