Introduction to Public Health

An understanding of public health – the systems, policies and theories that influence the health of the population – is important for decision making across the continuum of care. Introduction to Public Health provides a solid introduction to the key concepts of public health for undergraduate health science students and those new to the public health environment.

The text is divided into four sections, covering an overview of public health, the impact of policy and evidence, public health strategies and contemporary issues.

With contributions from a multidisciplinary range of experts, this fifth edition has been updated to include emerging public health challenges such as COVID-19, the impact of globalisation, wellbeing and chronic illnesses, as well as a clear understanding of the multidisciplinary nature of public health.

• Positions public health concepts within an Australian and global context
• Fully updated to reflect current public health policy and environment
• Concise and accessible; content is “chunked” for easy navigation
• Chapter case studies and examples to help illustrate key points
• Reflection opportunities to deliver maximum learning
• Written by experts from various public health specialties, providing a broad multidisciplinary perspective
• Suitable for undergraduate health science courses and a range of postgraduate health science courses including Graduate Certificate, Diploma and Masters in Public Health, Health Service Management and Health Administration
• Accompanied by a suite of video interviews with local experts to provide local public health context

Student resources on Evolve:

• Student quiz

Instructor resources on Evolve:

• Case studies + reflection questions
• Video interviews
• Image bank

Professor Mary Louise Fleming is Public Health Consultant and Board Director, Adjunct Professor, School of Public Health and Social Work at the Queensland University of Technology. She has over 30 years’ experience in teaching and research in higher education, in public health and health promotion. Her research experience is in: action research; process, impact and outcome evaluation in health promotion; and public health intervention design, development and implementation. Mary Louise has worked as a consultant for the World Health Organization and for Commonwealth and state health departments, and has sat on National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) public health project grant review panels. She is a member of the Board of Wesley Medical Research and the Metro North Hospital and Health Service in Queensland. She is widely published in the area of health promotion and public health. Her current role recognises the need for innovative solutions to the health-care system of the future, and working with the health care system to realise gains in efficiency and effectiveness while
focused on the patient at the centre of care.

Dr Louise Baldwin Is a health promotion specialist, academic, researcher and consultant at the local , state and national level in Australia. She is the the Global Vice President (Membership) for the International Union for Health Promotion and Education and a passionate advocate for mentoring, capacity building and connecting health promoters across global disciplines. Her work has spanned all facets of health promotion disciplines and largely focuses on sustainable change across communities including capacity building; policy; systems shifting and built environments. She holds a Visiting Fellow role in the School of Public Health and Social Work and in the Design Lab, Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice, Queensland University of Technology Australia.