Customer Reviews

Introduction to Public Health, Second Edition

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Mary-Jane Schneider's "Introduction to Public Health" is just what she claims it is - an introduction. The book is a very concisely and clearly-written overview on a range of public health topics such as water quality, epidemiology, and chronic diseases. Schneider divides the book into seven parts that look at the definition of public health, analytical methods of public health, public health's biomedical basis, social and behavioral factors, environmental issues, medical care, and the future of public health. The book should be valued not for its depth but its breadth - Schneider does cover a variety of important public health topics but she does not go into great detail. Including a list of resources or suggested reading at the end of each chapter would have been greatly appreciated. However, to Schneider's credit, the book does have cute illustrations and includes numerous charts, graphs, and discussion questions at the end of every chapter. The book is also very readable and isn't as daunting or dry as some other public health textbooks. This book is a great complement to Bernard Turnock's introduction to public health, as Turnock does go into some of the nitty gritty of public health but doesn't cover as many issues as Schneider does.

Truly a wonder. Not only is it full of useful information, well organized, thorough, and insightful - it's readable!!! For once, I could not put a book (other than a novel!) down! The author kept my interest alive with the excellent use of the language and the ability to keep even sub-sub-sections organized and to the point.

I turned to this book because I'm writing an evaluation of Washington State's substance abuse prevention efforts during the last few years, and my boss requested that I analyze it from the perspective of the public health model. I needed a review, and this book provided exactly what I needed.

I especially enjoyed the open, honest statements in the preface about how difficult it was to define public health during the author's involvement in establishing the School of Public Health in the University at Albany. The book is a delight to read and oh-so-useful.

This is an excellent Public Health textbook. Don't let the size of the book overwhelm you because the chapters are quite short. It is very easy to read and understand that practically anyone won't have trouble reading this.

this was required for my intro to public health class, and so far it's a pretty good accompaninent to our class lectures. however, often times, i find the explanations and supports they give too redundant. if you buy this and read it, i suggest not reading every paragraph. if you understand an idea or concept with just one example they give, don't feel as if you need to read the 2 or 3 other examples they go into detail for the next couple of pages.

so far, out of the 4 or 5 chapters i've read, i have actually found the prologue to be the most interesting. the prologue talks about some famous, most obvious cases of public health - i.e. AIDS and a water treatment caused breakout somewhere close the Great Lakes area. I'm not sure what this says about the book though...

Overall, good, strong introduction to Public Health, but redundant at times.

This edition of Public Health education is an easy-to-understand version of those complicated "big word" editions. Mary-Jane Schneider presents each topic with layman's terms and the illustrations make it fun. The list of additional resources found in the chapters are also very helpful.

"Introduction to Public Health" by Mary Jane Schneider is a well written, informative text and comprehensively provides the reader with an understanding of the important role governments play in protecting our nation's health. It also goes further to discuss health care (though it is written before Obamacare was published) to show how retrograde the American health care system is compared to European and North American nations. I found it quite informative.

I am upset that I had to give this author money. This book was required for school, and it is biased. Schneider attacks the Bush administration often. This is ridiculous, there should be both sides in a school book.

This book is a good example of why public health has become irrelevant to the average citizen. The content was biased and relied heavily on progressive philosophy. Public Health should be integral to improving and restructuring the health care system. The content is replete with accusations and blame for poor funding and indifference to purpose. Any discipline should be able to define itself and provide a realistic scope of objectives,goals and services. The author's conclusion was that legislation and education were the primary functions of public health in America. (More taxes for that?!)
The system has not adapted to current problems and needs since the later 60s. Practical application was nonexistent in the 80s and 90s and accounted for lack of funding. AIDS should have been a reawakening for public health professionals but they were paralyzed with fear of creating offence or lacking "compassion" for the gay community. Too many academics, unable to define purpose, strategies and practical application. AIDS is a public health problem and should have been treated like TB, venereal disease, and the many others!
The book was expensive and my daughter's professor taught only the standard line contents.The assignments were unchallenging and lacked creativity. No wonder, students see future employment options only as PHDs and researchers. How exciting.
This is a critical time for public health with many opportunities and possibilities, but professors, you need to come out of the classroom and perhaps definition, scope and purpose may become clear to you.

USUALLY WHEN I ORDER SOMETHING FROM AMAZON IT TAKES TWO DAYS TO ARRIVE WITH THIS BOOK IT TOOK A LITTLE LONGER THAN EXPECTED I WAS STARTING TO FREAK BUT THEN IT ARRIVED. OVERALL THE BOOK IS IN GOOD CONDITION I WOULD BUY FROM THIS SELLER AGAIN

Great info on public health issues. I am learning everyday from each chapter, thanks.