Practising Public Health: An Eyewitness Account

by John Ashton

Overview

Public health issues are rarely out of the news. The 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Grenfell Tower fire, new designer drugs, outbreaks of Ebola, and links between social media and mental health, occupy our thoughts and our screens. However, awareness of these events as public health issues is a recent phenomenon; for many years after the Second World War, the history of the field was eclipsed by advances in clinical science and patient care. In Practising Public Health: An Eyewitness Account, John Ashton sets the record straight.

The former Regional Director of Public Health in the North West of England, and co-founder of the WHO Healthy Cities Project, shares his adventures and experiences as a leader in public health at a time of unprecedented change and challenge. He presents case studies from the frontline of public health, and tells stories that are now part of modern history.

Fighting for a better public health at community, national, and international levels, John shows us how public engagement and partnership goes hand in hand with political action. The stories in this book illustrate the importance of using your imagination, challenging the status quo, and thinking on your feet when initiating change. John also reveals the thinking behind his renowned hands-on approach to public health, and explains why he insists on bridging the gap between theory and practice.

Practising Public Health connects the work of nineteenth century public health giants to that of today's twenty first century pioneers, taking time to reflect over, dissect and highlight the events, decisions and people involved in its development. With case studies and story-telling, this book is ideal for undergraduate and postgraduate public health courses worldwide. It is also of high value to other health professional groups such as nurses and health visitors, social workers and community development activists, as well as politicians and policy makers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198743170
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	01/20/2020
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 6.10(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

John Ashton, President, The UK Faculty of Public Health, London, UK

Professor Ashton has had extensive experience of bridging both academic and practical worlds, and has been associated with some of the most celebrated public health interventions of the past 30 years in Europe and globally through collaborations with WHO and municipalities. These include action to tackle teenage pregnancy, the advent of HIV/Aids and a range of significant disasters and health emergencies. He was one of the founders of the WHO Healthy Cities Project, established the first UK Public Health Observatory, the first large scale syringe exchange programme and is known internationally for his work on Health Advocacy.

Table of Contents

Section 1: On the shoulders of giants1. Roots and Foundations2. Public Health at its Peak - the Interwar YearsSection 2: The Three Pillars of Public Health3. Improving Health in Mersey4. Promoting and Improving Health5. Protecting Health6. Population Health CareSection 3: Synthesis7. No Health Without Mental Health - Mens Sane in Corpore Sano8. Healthy Cities9. Culture, Arts and Wellbeing10. Reflections

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Gwendolyn Sue Short, DNP, MPH (Saint Catherine University)
Description: This is a fascinating first-person account of a public health practitioner working over many decades in the 20th and 21st centuries in the U.K.
Purpose: The author hopes to provide a personal account of his public health experience, but also to "drill up to the national and international levels to capture the 'strategic under view'." As a clinician with a public health background, I found this book fascinating.
Audience: An appropriate audience for this book is public health practitioners, healthcare providers and administrators, health professions students, and anyone who is interested in reading about public health in England. The author is immensely credible, having lived through much of what he describes.
Features: This well-done book begins with a history of public health in England and Ireland, with a special focus on Liverpool and its surrounding area. The author provides personal accounts — as medical practitioner, administrator, and leader — of his own experience with successful and not-so-successful public health campaigns, illustrating the importance of adhering to the pillars of public health. He pushes hard for community participation in his vision of what works and what does not work in public health initiatives and provides excellent examples throughout the book. His voice is one of expertise and experience, as he advocates for the practice of public health for the people, as it should be. The book is separated into three parts: a history of public health in England and Ireland; the development of public health programs both in and outside of England; and examples of community-based public health programs. The eyewitness accounts and personal examples lend credibility to the book.
Assessment: This book is fascinating, primarily because of the breadth of experience and expertise that the author and his first-person accounts provide. I have not read another book quite like it.

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