The Promising Future of Public Health


Book Description

Epidemiology originated during the Middle Ages when science-based medicine arose and medical schools were established. Clinically trained epidemiologists began to advance knowledge on human disease through intensive observations of their patients over time. Modern computing was quickly adopted by epidemiologists as an essential tool of modern medicine. Despite its key role in medicine, epidemiology-based teaching and research is now faltering, as professors emphasize the difficulties, rather than the advantages, of this critical branch of medicine. No other medical specialty can accurately track diseases in populations at risk, or evaluate the cost and quality of medical care. It can create clinical information systems for practising physicians, assess health risks in large population groups and evaluate unique subgroups at risk of disease. A major lesson from the COVID-19 experience is that enhancing the work of medical epidemiologists is crucial to the future of public health and clinical medicine. How this goal can be achieved is the central theme of this volume.




The Future of Public Health


Book Description

"The Nation has lost sight of its public health goals and has allowed the system of public health to fall into 'disarray'," from The Future of Public Health. This startling book contains proposals for ensuring that public health service programs are efficient and effective enough to deal not only with the topics of today, but also with those of tomorrow. In addition, the authors make recommendations for core functions in public health assessment, policy development, and service assurances, and identify the level of government--federal, state, and local--at which these functions would best be handled.




The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century


Book Description

The anthrax incidents following the 9/11 terrorist attacks put the spotlight on the nation's public health agencies, placing it under an unprecedented scrutiny that added new dimensions to the complex issues considered in this report. The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century reaffirms the vision of Healthy People 2010, and outlines a systems approach to assuring the nation's health in practice, research, and policy. This approach focuses on joining the unique resources and perspectives of diverse sectors and entities and challenges these groups to work in a concerted, strategic way to promote and protect the public's health. Focusing on diverse partnerships as the framework for public health, the book discusses: The need for a shift from an individual to a population-based approach in practice, research, policy, and community engagement. The status of the governmental public health infrastructure and what needs to be improved, including its interface with the health care delivery system. The roles nongovernment actors, such as academia, business, local communities and the media can play in creating a healthy nation. Providing an accessible analysis, this book will be important to public health policy-makers and practitioners, business and community leaders, health advocates, educators and journalists.




Who Will Keep the Public Healthy?


Book Description

Bioterrorism, drug-resistant disease, transmission of disease by global travel . . . there's no shortage of challenges facing America's public health officials. Men and women preparing to enter the field require state-of-the-art training to meet these increasing threats to the public health. But are the programs they rely on provide the high caliber professional training they require? Who Will Keep the Public Healthy? provides an overview of the past, present, and future of public health education, assessing its readiness to provide the training and education needed to prepare men and women to face 21st century challenges. Advocating an ecological approach to public health, the Institute of Medicine examines the role of public health schools and degree-granting programs, medical schools, nursing schools, and government agencies, as well as other institutions that foster public health education and leadership. Specific recommendations address the content of public health education, qualifications for faculty, availability of supervised practice, opportunities for cross-disciplinary research and education, cooperation with government agencies, and government funding for education. Eight areas of critical importance to public health education in the 21st century are examined in depth: informatics, genomics, communication, cultural competence, community-based participatory research, global health, policy and law, and public health ethics. The book also includes a discussion of the policy implications of its ecological framework.




The New Public Health


Book Description

The New Public Health has established itself as a solid textbook throughout the world. Translated into 7 languages, this work distinguishes itself from other public health textbooks, which are either highly locally oriented or, if international, lack the specificity of local issues relevant to students' understanding of applied public health in their own setting. This 3e provides a unified approach to public health appropriate for all masters' level students and practitioners—specifically for courses in MPH programs, community health and preventive medicine programs, community health education programs, and community health nursing programs, as well as programs for other medical professionals such as pharmacy, physiotherapy, and other public health courses. - Changes in infectious and chronic disease epidemiology including vaccines, health promotion, human resources for health and health technology - Lessons from H1N1, pandemic threats, disease eradication, nutritional health - Trends of health systems and reforms and consequences of current economic crisis for health - Public health law, ethics, scientific d health technology advances and assessment - Global Health environment, Millennium Development Goals and international NGOs




Prevention, Policy, and Public Health


Book Description

Prevention, Policy, and Public Health provides a basic foundation for students, professionals, and researchers to be more effective in the policy arena. It offers information on the dynamics of the policymaking process, theoretical frameworks, analysis, and policy applications. It also offers coverage of advocacy and communication, the two most integral aspects of shaping policies for public health.




Teaching Public Health


Book Description

A comprehensive collection of best practices in public health education. As more students are drawn to public health as a field of study and a profession, bringing varied backgrounds and experiences with them, the number of public health programs and schools of public health has grown substantially. How can teachers meet the changing needs of incoming students—and ensure that graduates have the knowledge, skills, and attributes to pursue further education and forge successful careers in public health? Aimed at experienced and new teachers alike, this timely volume is a cutting-edge primer on teaching public health around the globe. Bringing together leaders in the field with expertise across the educational continuum, the book combines the conceptual underpinnings needed to advance curricula with the resources to train and support faculty in innovative teaching methods. This thorough book • discusses challenges faced by public health teachers • examines the principles and practices for teaching at each level of study • describes technological and pedagogical innovations in public health education • stresses the importance of life-long learning and interprofessional education • offers concrete tips for engaging students through active and collaborative learning • focuses on teaching cultural competency and reaching diverse student populations • looks to the future, building on emerging trends and anticipating where the field is headed A field-defining volume, Teaching Public Health offers a concrete plan to ensure that both individual courses and overall curricula are responsive to the needs of a rapidly changing student body and the world beyond the school. Contributors: Linda Alexander, Susan Altfeld, Jessica S. Ancker, Lauren D. Arnold, Melissa D. Begg, Angela Breckenridge, Kathryn M. Cardarelli, Angela Carman, Trey Conatser, Lorraine M. Conroy, Yvette C. Cozier, Eugene Declercq, Marie Diener-West, Jen Dolan, Greg Evans, Julian Fisher, Elizabeth French, Sandro Galea, Daniel Gerber, Sophie Godley, Jacey A. Greece, Perry N. Halkitis, Jennifer Hebert-Beirne, Jyotsna Jagai, Katherine Johnson, Nancy Kane, David G. Kleinbaum, Wayne LaMorte, Meg Landfried, Delia L. Lang, Joel Lee, Laura Linnan, Laura Magaña Valladares, Uchechi Mitchell, Beth Moracco, Robert Pack, Donna Petersen, Silvia E. Rabionet, Elizabeth Reisinger Walker, Richard Riegelman, Kathleen Ryan, Nelly Salgado de Snyder, Rachel Schwartz, Lisa M. Sullivan, Tanya Uden-Holman, Luann White, James Wolff, Randy Wykoff




The Contagion Next Time


Book Description

A better and healthier time to be alive than ever -- An unhealthy country -- An unhealthy world -- Who we are, the foundational forces -- Where we live, work, and play -- Politics, power, and money -- Compassion -- Social, racial, and economic justice -- Health as a public good -- Understanding what matters most -- Working in complexity and doubt -- Humility and informing the public conversation.




The Future of Nursing


Book Description

The Future of Nursing explores how nurses' roles, responsibilities, and education should change significantly to meet the increased demand for care that will be created by health care reform and to advance improvements in America's increasingly complex health system. At more than 3 million in number, nurses make up the single largest segment of the health care work force. They also spend the greatest amount of time in delivering patient care as a profession. Nurses therefore have valuable insights and unique abilities to contribute as partners with other health care professionals in improving the quality and safety of care as envisioned in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enacted this year. Nurses should be fully engaged with other health professionals and assume leadership roles in redesigning care in the United States. To ensure its members are well-prepared, the profession should institute residency training for nurses, increase the percentage of nurses who attain a bachelor's degree to 80 percent by 2020, and double the number who pursue doctorates. Furthermore, regulatory and institutional obstacles-including limits on nurses' scope of practice-should be removed so that the health system can reap the full benefit of nurses' training, skills, and knowledge in patient care. In this book, the Institute of Medicine makes recommendations for an action-oriented blueprint for the future of nursing.




The Future of Nursing 2020-2030


Book Description

The decade ahead will test the nation's nearly 4 million nurses in new and complex ways. Nurses live and work at the intersection of health, education, and communities. Nurses work in a wide array of settings and practice at a range of professional levels. They are often the first and most frequent line of contact with people of all backgrounds and experiences seeking care and they represent the largest of the health care professions. A nation cannot fully thrive until everyone - no matter who they are, where they live, or how much money they make - can live their healthiest possible life, and helping people live their healthiest life is and has always been the essential role of nurses. Nurses have a critical role to play in achieving the goal of health equity, but they need robust education, supportive work environments, and autonomy. Accordingly, at the request of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, on behalf of the National Academy of Medicine, an ad hoc committee under the auspices of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine conducted a study aimed at envisioning and charting a path forward for the nursing profession to help reduce inequities in people's ability to achieve their full health potential. The ultimate goal is the achievement of health equity in the United States built on strengthened nursing capacity and expertise. By leveraging these attributes, nursing will help to create and contribute comprehensively to equitable public health and health care systems that are designed to work for everyone. The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity explores how nurses can work to reduce health disparities and promote equity, while keeping costs at bay, utilizing technology, and maintaining patient and family-focused care into 2030. This work builds on the foundation set out by The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health (2011) report.