Introduction to Public Health

This is the only survey of the US public health system to combine the perspectives of academicians and public health professionals. Replete with illuminating case studies, the text describes basic public health activities and services including the organization of our public health system, administrative and management concerns, financing, use of technology, and workforce and reform issues.

The text explores and analyzes those aspects of the public health system that have successfully achieved their goals and those that have not. It addresses careers in public health and the educational requirements and skills needed to attain them, including new accreditation and certification programs. New public health initiatives are discussed including evidence-based practices, along with such critical issues as health disparities, emergency preparedness, and health care technology. The text covers the cost, financing, and outcomes of the US public health system and includes extensive references, statistics, and tables from current health reports (i.e. the CDC Healthy People 2010 objectives and IOM Report Future of Public Health).

• Provides a comprehensive overview of the US public health system for public health, nursing, medical, and pharmacology students
• Combines the academic and practical experience of leaders in public health
• Includes plentiful case studies offering real-world examples
• Reflects the latest public health certification requirements and standards including the CHP exam
• Addresses critical issues such as health disparities, emergency preparedness, health care technology, and evidence-based practice

Raymond L. Goldsteen, DrPH, is the founding Director of the Graduate Program in Public Health and Professor of Preventive Medicine in the School of Medicine at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He received his bachelor's degree in urban studies from Columbia University, Master's degree from Brown University in sociology, and doctoral degree from the Columbia University School of Public Health. He has an extensive background in the study of the U.S. health care system through his scholarly work, teaching, and service during his professional career as a university professor and director of health policy research centers at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, University of Oklahoma College of Public Health, and the West Virginia University School of Medicine.

He is particularly interested in public policy related to vulnerable populations and: 1) investigating the structural and situational factors that improve or maintain the health status of vulnerable populations; 2) determining the factors that lead to public support for policies that improve or maintain population health; and 3) providing information to vulnerable populations that they can use in their own behalf as a development tool. His scholarly work integrates elements of sociology, social psychology, and political science and relates them to the health and well-being of populations.

Karen Goldsteen, PhD, is a faculty member in the Graduate Program in Public Health at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She received a MPH degree from the School of Public Health at Columbia University and a PhD in Community Health from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She was a Pew Health Policy Fellow at the University of California, San Francisco. She has extensive training and experience in research methods related to clinical outcomes research and health services research. She has extensive experience in survey research design and analysis as well as the analysis of large, administrative data bases such as Medicaid claims data and hospital discharge data. She has contributed to a number of major community health research projects focusing on underserved populations. She has completed numerous research projects including utilization of health and social services among the elderly; bypass of rural hospitals for mental health care; lack of insurance coverage and its health consequences; and satisfaction with physicians.

David Graham, MD, MPH, is the former Director of Public Health of Suffolk County and Chief Deputy Health Commissioner of Suffolk Country. As the Director of Public Health, he managed Epidemiology and Disease Control, Public Health Protection, Bioterrorism Preparedness, Preventive Services, and the Arthropod-borne Disease Laboratory. As Chief Deputy Health Commissioner, he managed several major divisions, including: Public Health, Patient Care, Community Mental Hygiene, Services for Children with Special Needs, Environmental Quality, Emergency Medical Services and Forensic Sciences. His career in public health spans nearly 30 years.