The movement to bring public health education to the nation’s undergraduate students took a giant leap forward this year with the launch of a new publishing partnership.
In April, Jones & Bartlett Learning joined with APHA. The two will co-publish the Essential Public Health series, which was created to equip public health instructors with basic introductory textbooks for basic classes in topics such as public health, epidemiology and global health.
“We are pleased to team up with a leading publisher in the field to deliver quality, evidence-based resources that will enhance learning, strengthen the public health work force and improve health outcomes,” said Georges C. Benjamin, MD, FACP, FACEP (E), executive director of APHA. “This new collaboration will raise the bar for public health education and equip tomorrow’s leaders with the tools they need to succeed.”
The series is rooted in a 2003 Institute of Medicine recommendation that all undergraduate students should have access to education in public health, said series editor Richard Riegelman, MD, PhD, MPH, professor and founding dean of the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. A movement sparked by the IoM report encourages undergraduate public health core curricula as part of general education at four-year and two-year colleges, as well as the integration of public health throughout undergraduate education.
“We call this the ‘101 approach,’” said Riegelman, author of “Public Health 101: Healthy People, Healthy Populations,” an upcoming title in the series.
The partnership’s first title, “Essentials of Management and Leadership in Public Health,” reflects the series’ consistent voice and classroom-tested materials. Authored by Robert Burke, PhD, and Leonard Friedman, PhD, MPH, the book offers public health students broad exposure to the interdisciplinary skills and knowledge needed to manage and lead public health organizations.
Other titles now available include “Essentials of Global Community Health,” by Jaime Gofin, MD, MPH, and Rosa Gofin, MD, MPH; “Essentials of Health Policy and Law,” by Joel Teitelbaum, JD, LLM, and Sara Wilensky, JD, MPP; and “Essentials of Public Health Biology,” by Constance Battle, MD.
“We are seeing a great deal of interest,” Riegelman, who is an APHA member, told The Nation’s Health. “The primary audience is undergraduates, but increasingly, these books are being used by public health practitioners and as introductory books at the graduate level.”
The essential series features a range of titles, Riegelman said, noting that the books are uniformly comprehensive, consistent and clear, with a similar structure and design.
“They all fit together and they all include web-based materials to assist students and faculty,” Riegelman said.
For more information or to order any of the books in the series, visit www.aphabookstore.org or e-mail apha{at}pbd.com.
Footnotes
Editor’s note: This article was corrected post-publication
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
