Copyright © 2004 by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
BOOK REVIEWS |
Public Health: What It Is and How It Works. Third Edition
Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205
By Bernard J. Turnock
ISBN 0-7637-3215-X, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Sudbury, Massachusetts (Telephone: 800-832-0034, Fax: 978-443-8000, Website: http://www.jbpub.com), 2004, 420 pp., $59.95 (paperback)
There is no one in American public health more qualified to write this textbook of public health practice than Dr. Bernard Turnock. He served as a distinguished commissioner of the Department of Public Health in Illinois and has been the leading scholar in the field of public health services research. This third edition of Public Health: What It Is and How It Works offers a new chapter on public health emergency preparedness and information on recent developments in public health, including national standards and funding.
The textbook is organized into two large sections. The first four chapters are a primer on the basic concepts and practices of public health and should be of interest to a general audience. This section includes information on the history of public health, determinants of health and risk factors for illness, measures of health status, public health in the context of the rapidly changing health care system in the United States, and the organization of public health responsibilities at the local, state, and federal levels. The second five chapters are intended for the more serious student of public health. These chapters focus on the inner workings of public health, including its core functions and the processes, practices, and tools needed to improve public health practice; public health program outputs and evidence-based practice; public health interventions; emergency preparedness; and, finally, the future of public health. The chapters are rich with data and figures, case-study material, and study questions for the student. An excellent glossary defines dozens of public health terms and concepts.
Like the field of public health itself, this book’s strengths are also its weaknesses. At the outset, Turnock provides an excellent review of the various definitions of public health; however, the fact that our field generates so many different versions of its mission and purpose is in itself a weakness in a policy arena where simple, clear messages are valued. The juxtaposition of arguments for "public health as part of the health care system" and "the health care system as part of public health" is a good example of a situation where internal debates can undermine external clarity. Public health is an undisciplined field comprising many practitioners who do not always speak the same language, and we are undisciplined in our thinking, dabbling in many related fields without enough depth and understanding. The book presents an array of frameworks that are used throughout the various domains of public health. While all of these frameworks may actually be used, the variation demonstrates the problems inherent in such a broad, multidisciplinary field. Nevertheless, the book’s comprehensiveness—ranging from discussions of the science of infectious diseases, chronic illness, and environmental hazards to the administration of programs to politics, law, and ethics—reflects the wide breadth of our field while at the same time giving readers at all levels some depth of insight and information.
A clear strength of Public Health is the use of case material. Turnock draws upon his own rich reservoir of experience to illustrate the work of public health. The insets reporting on public health achievements of the twentieth century are superb additions. The book addresses the current administration of public health in a historical context, thereby reinforcing the sense that we are part of a dynamic, ever-changing field that is remaking itself to address contemporary concerns. The book provides an excellent introduction to the tools of public health measurement; assessment, planning, and policy development; and program administration. The chapters are packed with information, lists of bulleted points, and graphics. Public Health is a major contribution to the understanding and teaching of pubic health.
Turnock closes Public Health with a challenge to all of us—from epidemiologists to public health administrators—to recommit ourselves to improving the health of the public. His book helps us all to better understand and play our respective parts.
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