Out of Print: Essentials of Public Health

Book excerpt: Published in partnership with the American Public Health Association, this cornerstone text in the Jones & Bartlett Learning Essential Public Health series is an excellent introduction to the field of public health. Ideal for senior-level undergraduates or graduate students in public health, health science, health professions, or nursing, Essentials of Public Health focuses on the inner-workings of health departments and the role of public health professionals. This comprehensive text combines the best elements of Dr. Turnock's other two books: Public Health: What It Is and How It Works and Public Health: Career Choices That Make a Difference. The first set of chapters introduces defines and describes the public health system, provide concepts and tools for measuring health in populations, characterizes the relationship of the public health system with medical care and other elements of the overall health system, and identifies government’s unique contributions through federal, state, and local public health agencies. The second set of chatpers focuses on public health careers within the context of the overall public health workforce. Basic information on the size and composition of the public health workforce is followed by chapters that address careers and jobs in public health administration, epidemiology, public health nursing, health education, and other professional and program titles and positions. With its clear, reader-friendly language and helpful learning tools such as chapter exercises and discussion questions, this is the ideal text to prepare your students for a career in public health. Updated and New Information in the Second Edition: - NACCHO Profile data from 2008 and 2010 surveys - Accreditation of public health agencies - Public health workforce development activities including the credentialing of public health workers - Health reform provisions enacted in 2010 - Updated and revised seciton on public health financing