Glenn Laverack - A-Z of Public Health

az of public health

Professional Keywords series

Every field of practice has its own methods, terminology, conceptual debates and landmark publications. The Professional Keywords series expertly structures this material into easy-reference A to Z format. Focusing on the ideas and themes that shape the field, and informed by the latest research, these books are designed both to guide the student reader and to refresh practitioners thinking and understanding.

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az of

public health

Glenn Laverack

Glenn Laverack 2015

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission.

No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 610 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.

Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published 2015 by

PALGRAVE

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ISBN: 9781137426161

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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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contents

acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the many people with whom I have had the privilege of working during the course of writing this book. In particular, I would like to thank Steven Markham, Professor Paul Ward, Carol Anne Hartwick, Professor Margaret Barry, Associate Professor Michael Craig Watson, Christine Materia, Dr James Woodall, Sarah Kingston, Dr Tim Tensenbel, Dr Scott Davis, Dr Gauden Galea, Professor David Ross, Dr David Hipgrave, Karen Hicks, Jonathon Watkins, Rachel Tainsh, Dr Leila Masson, Simon Rowlands, Melody Muscat, Dr Marewa Glover, Susie Sykes, Michael Bare, Associate Professor Jon Willis, Professor Susan Rifkin, Professor Timothy Ensor, Associate Professor Evelyne de Leeuw, Dr Ragnhild Elise Johansen, Viveca Hagmark, Annie Portela and Professor Venka Simovska.

Love to my family, to my wife Elizabeth and to our three wonderful children, Ben, Holly and Rebecca.

how to use this book

The A to Z of Public Health covers 75 main entries and many other definitions, terms and theories, all written to provide the reader with a multi-disciplinary interpretation of the subject. Each main entry provides the reader with a precise definition, a theoretical interpretation and, if appropriate, examples of the practical application. The book does not have to be read sequentially as the reader can access any one entry, or any combination of entries, separately. At the end of each entry is a listing of three key texts to provide further sources of information so that readers can gain a more in-depth understanding of the subject area. The use of cross-referencing in the see also list under the heading of each entry is designed to assist navigability and to encourage the reader to move between the entries. It is important for the reader to use the detailed Index because this has been designed to provide the full range of terms used in the book. The numbering in the Index uses bold text to indicate pages with a quick access to a precise definition.

To efficiently use this book the reader is recommended to first choose an entry listed in the Contents, and in the Index, that most closely matches his or her interests. For example, the main entry social movements will provide the reader with a definition for, and an understanding of, the theoretical foundations of health social movements. Also using the Index list will help to direct the reader to several practical examples of social movements used in the book in other entries.

introduction

Public health remains a contested term. This is not surprising given the competing perspectives and priorities that it addresses, the different services that it delivers and the specialist fields that it covers. Traditionally, public health has been used to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, often supported by the legal powers held by the state to ensure that people are healthy for the common good. More recently, public health has addressed the increase in chronic diseases which has been driven by the rapid growth of an overweight and obese population. Internationally, public health covers a wide range range of multi-disciplinary issues that are covered in this book.

Other guides and encyclopaedias for public health have taken a traditional focus on disease, an epidemiological perspective and on interventions that target individuals to educate and motivate them to change high-risk behaviours. The A to Z of Public Health has been written as a complete text, based on professional experience and with a special focus on addressing social and political issues. The book is the perfect companion for more traditional public health texts because of its emphasis on the unconventional, contemporary and innovative in the field. The A to Z of Public Health intentionally does not focus on entries about disease, information transfer, behaviour change or economic and statistical analysis. The book has been written to offer, in its entirety, an exciting, new contribution to public health practice.

The A to Z of Public Health is a reliable source of reference on many definitions, theories and approaches. Its scope is further extended by a companion source book in the same series entitled the A to Z of Health Promotion by the same author. The writing style is easy to read, theoretically well informed and empirically grounded, also using case studies and knowledge taken from the authors own experience. Additional material from the grey literature or information systematically collected by others, such as web-based data sources, are all clearly cited to indicate the relative strength of the evidence. Direct references are provided in quotation marks with the relevant page numbers; otherwise the source has been paraphrased or interpreted using several sources.