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Public health is the ultimate”big tent.” How do we introduce such a vast and glorious field to the uninitiated? How do we interest them in becoming public health professionals themselves, who will then offer their skills
and enthusiasm in service of public health goals? As lifelong public health professionals who have taught public health to undergraduate and graduate students for many years, this was our aim in writing an Introduction to Public Health. There is an urgent need to develop the public health perspective in
more people to deal with the wide ranging problems that threaten health today. Despite many improvements in health and the conditions that promote health in recent years, there are areas of deep concern. These include the deterioration of global water supplies; stress on world food supplies and the resulting hunger suffered by millions daily; warming of the earth and its adverse impact on the natural environment; manmade catastrophes related to industrialization that expose people needlessly to toxins and injury; wars
that leave millions homeless and without adequate food, water, and shelter and a stable social environment in which to live and raise children; and disparities in access to resources needed to promote health and well-being. For the many in the United States, these troubles may seem far away— difficulties that happen only in other countries and parts of the world—but they either exist here or have an impact on us indirectly.
These problems are amplified in the United States by the current breakdown in civic discourse and the polarization of people and politicians along cultural, political, educational, racial, and economic lines. The conditions that helped us to become a great nation—tolerance of diversity and access to opportunity regardless of race, religion, social status, or family heritage—are threatened. Social justice is under attack. Economic injustice is on the rise. Yet, public health offers an antidote. We have a proud history of fighting for social justice and the conditions needed for health: Clean water; a safe and nutritious food supply; adequate sewage and garbage disposal; safe housing and workplaces; and infectious disease control. These are just a few of the areas of health improvement that public health has pioneered.
