A History of Public Health

A History of Public Health: From Past to Present uses a structured format to study public health from antiquity to the present time. After a brief introduction, this concise text illuminates defining moments in public health history through stories that illustrate people, principles, and challenges. These are followed by a discussion of history's relevance to contemporary practice. Suggestions for additional study, discussion questions, and references complete each chapter. History gives us a sense of perspective and of proportion. Looking at public health over decades and centuries, we see health issues in a longer context. Students, health care workers, public health professionals, researchers, teachers, advocates, policymakers, and citizens are all needed to improve public health. Public health's history is relevant to our complex, challenging, enduring, and global issues today. Knowledge of our past will help us in the present and prepare us for the future.

Key Features:
- Emphasis on selected narratives - more detailed stories - to highlight defining moments in public health history and help readers to remember key historical events, their significance, and determine their relevance to today's issues and practice.
- Easily accessible references and primary sources ( historical newspapers government documents, contemporary textbooks, papers and journal articles) are included for additional study and context.
- Ample visuals and graphics highlight people, priorities, art, public opinion, and trends relevant to the time period, public health issue, and social/cultural context.
- Each chapter highlights the relevance of public health history to contemporary practice.
- Many transformative public health topics and current public health issues are covered (e.g. environmental awakening of the 70s and its relevance to climate change today).