Includes bibliographical references (pages 641-676) and index.

PART 1; Problems, options, and priorites; Introduction; 1.1 Scoping public health problems; 1.2 Turning public health problems into answerable questions; 1.3 Assessing health care needs; 1.4 Making choices - the role of health economics; 1.5 Assessing health impact; 1.6 Being explicit about values in public health; 1.7 Understanding ethics in public health; 1.8 Innovating; PART 2; Using data and evidence; Introduction; 2.1 Understanding data, information, and knowledge; 2.2 Qualitative and quantitative understanding; 2.3 Epidemiologic understanding; 2.4 Monitoring disease and risk factors: surveillance; 2.5 Investigating changes in occurrence; 2.6 Investigating alleged clusters; 2.7 Monitoring specific determinants and diseases - registers; 2.8 Assessing health status; 2.9 Summarising population health; 2.10 Measuring and auditing health inequality and equity; 2.11 Finding and appraising research evidence; 2.12 Providing data and evidence for practitioners and policy makers; PART 3; Direct Action; Introduction; 3.1 Preventing epidemics of communicable disease; 3.2 Protecting health, sustaining the environment; 3.3 Protecting and promoting health in the workplace; 3.4 Facilitating community action; 3.5 Respondong to disasters; 3.6 Assuring screening programmes; 3.7 Hard-to-reach groups; 3.8 Understanding public health genetics; 3.9 The practice of public health in primary care; 3.10 The practice of public health in poorer countries; PART 4; Making Policy; Introduction; 4.1 Influencing government policy: a framework; 4.2 Developing healthy public policy; 4.3 Law in public health practice; 4.4 Shaping your organization's policy; 4.5 Translating policy into indicators and targets; 4.6 Translating indictators and targets into public health action; 4.7 Influencing governments via media advocacy; 4.8 Public health policy at European level; 4.9 Influencing international policy; PART 5; Developing health system strategy; Introduction; 5.1 An introduction to healthcare strategy; 5.2 Strategic approaches to planning health services; 5.3 Learning from international models of funding and delivering health care; 5.4 Setting priorities in health care; 5.5 Improving equity in health care; 5.6 Commissioning health care; PART 6; Improving quality in health care; 6.1 Understanding health care quality; 6.2 Effecting change in health care organisations; 6.3 Quality improvement through chronic disease management; 6.4 Variations in health care activity and quality; 6.5 Improving health and health care through informatics; 6.6 Evaluating health care technologies; 6.7 Getting research into practice; 6.8 Using guidance and frameworks; 6.9 Evaluating health care systems; 6.10 Evaluating patient experience and health care process data; 6.11 Clinical quality, governance and accountability; PART 7; Personal effectiveness; Introduction; 7.1 Developing leadership skills; 7.2 Effecting change at meetings; 7.3 Writing to effect change; 7.4 Working with the media; 7.5 Communicating risk; 7.6 Being a consultant; 7.7 Being a political activist; 7.8 Assessing and improving your own professional practice; PART 8; Organisational development; Introduction; 8.1 Working in teams; 8.2 Managing projects; 8.3 Planning - operational and business; 8.4 Involving consumers; 8.5 Assessing public health effectiveness; Endmatters; A chronology of Public Health Practice; Ten golden rules of Public Health Practice; Internet sources of references (Important websites); Abbreviations and glossary; Bibliography; Index; Inclusion.