Introduction to Public Health

Rating:
Summary: A good place to start
Review: Mary-Jane Schneider's "Introduction to Public Health" is just what she claims it is - an introduction. The book is a very concisely and clearly-written overview on a range of public health topics such as water quality, epidemiology, and chronic diseases. Schneider divides the book into seven parts that look at the definition of public health, analytical methods of public health, public health's biomedical basis, social and behavioral factors, environmental issues, medical care, and the future of public health. The book should be valued not for its depth but its breadth - Schneider does cover a variety of important public health topics but she does not go into great detail. Including a list of resources or suggested reading at the end of each chapter would have been greatly appreciated. However, to Schneider's credit, the book does have cute illustrations and includes numerous charts, graphs, and discussion questions at the end of every chapter. The book is also very readable and isn't as daunting or dry as some other public health textbooks. This book is a great complement to Bernard Turnock's introduction to public health, as Turnock does go into some of the nitty gritty of public health but doesn't cover as many issues as Schneider does.

Rating:
Summary: Truly a wonder
Review: Truly a wonder. Not only is it full of useful information, well organized, thorough, and insightful - it's readable!!! For once, I could not put a book (other than a novel!) down! The author kept my interest alive with the excellent use of the language and the ability to keep even sub-sub-sections organized and to the point.

I turned to this book because I'm writing an evaluation of Washington State's substance abuse prevention efforts during the last few years, and my boss requested that I analyze it from the perspective of the public health model. I needed a review, and this book provided exactly what I needed.

I especially enjoyed the open, honest statements in the preface about how difficult it was to define public health during the author's involvement in establishing the School of Public Health in the University at Albany. The book is a delight to read and oh-so-useful.