Includes index.

Contents: What is public health?: Public health: science, politics, and prevention -- Why is public health controversial? -- Powers and responsibilities of government -- Analytical methods of public health: Epidemiology: the basic science of public health -- Epidemiologic principles and methods -- Problems and limits of epidemiology -- Statistics: making sense of uncertainty -- The Role of data in public health -- Biomedical basis of public health: The "conquest" of infectious diseases -- The Resurgence of infectious diseases -- The biomedical basis of chronic diseases -- Genetic diseases and other inborn errors -- Social and behavioral factors in health: Do people choose their own health? -- How psychosocial factors affect health behavior -- Public health enemy number one: tobacco -- Public health enemy number two and growing: poor diet and physical inactivity -- Injuries are not accidents -- Maternal and child health as a social problem -- Mental health: public health includes healthy minds -- Environmental issues in public health: A Clean environment: the basis of public health -- Clean air: is it safe to breathe? -- Clean water: a limited resource -- Solid and hazardous wastes: what to do with the garbage? -- Safe foods and drugs: an ongoing regulatory battle -- Population: the ultimate environmental health issue -- Medical care and public health: Is the medical care system a public health issue? -- Why the U.S. medical system needs reform -- Health services research: finding what works -- Public health and the aging population -- The Future of public health: Emergency preparedness, post-9/11 -- Public health in the twenty-first century: achievements and challenges.