Public Health Practice in Australia

Introduction. Part I Background: The basics. 1.What is public health? Definitions and applications. 2.The historical development of public health: Landmarks in the field. 3.Health and wellbeing in Australia today: Health status, the healthcare system, and the place of public health. Part II Conceptual and analytical toolkit: key concepts and frameworks. 4.Distribution of health and its determinants: Changing concepts and models. 5.Explaining differences and determinants: environment, society, and behaviour. 6.Public health interventions: From quarantine to the rise of 'evidence-based practice'. 7.Health systems and policy: Making sense of the complex mosaic. 8.Ethical foundations for public health practice. Part III Public health infrastructure: building blocks and the system of delivery. 9.Who delivers public health? Contemporary policies and players. 10.Legislative authority for public health action: How governments and societal expectations intersect. 11.Public health intelligence: Its production and use for action. 12.Human and financial resources: Essential foundations for action. Part IV Public health action: Key interventions from past to present. 13.Disease control: from surveillance to interventions. 14.Health protection: From the physical environment to ecological health. 15.Preventive services: Linking public health and personal health care. 16.Health promotion: From lifestyles to societal, commercial, and environmental determinants of health. 17.Health maintenance and improvement for vulnerable populations: From needs to rights. Part V Public health challenges: Emerging issues and responses18.Public health governance: Politics of participation, decision-making, and accountability. 19.Futures of public health: Where to now for the organised effort?