Key Topics in Public Health
Essential Briefings on Prevention and Health Promotion

Linda Ewles (Edited by)

9780443100260, Elsevier Health Sciences

Paperback / softback, published 24 May 2005

314 pages, Illustrated
24.6 x 18.7 x 2 cm, 0.6 kg

"Linda Ewles edits with a 'no jargon' approach that serves to demystify public health. All the chapters are written by experts and focus on specific disseases or behaviours recognnised as contributing to poor health." Gill Watson; Nursing Standard

Key Topics is a short, easy-to-read text that provides basic information about twelve key topics in public health, such as diabetes, cancer, smoking and teenage pregnancy, and how prevention and health promotion should be tackled at community and one-to-one levels. The twelve topics are the 'must-dos' of public health action. They have been selected because they are those addressed in current national public health strategies such as Saving Lives: our healthier nation, and comparable strategies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Many are the subject of National Service Frameworks and other national policies and plans; they are often accompanied by targets which health workers are expected to meet. Topics often relate to each other (e.g. smoking and cancer) so cross-references will be provided.

• Accessible and useful, in clear plain English.
• Provides a foundation for further study, planning a work programme, or planning a strategy to meet targets.
• Practical focus: on health inequalities and how to tackle them, and on help for practitioners who work at a community and one-to-one level.
• Explicit links to national current public health policy and targets. Reflects recommendations based on best practice and evidence of effectiveness.
• Focuses on a topic framework (except for the last two chapters) in contrast to other frameworks for health promotion and public health.
• Attractive layout making full use of bullet points and boxes.
• Simple line diagrams or tables to illustrate each chapter.

1. Cancer

2. Coronary heart disease and stroke

3. Diabetes

4. Smoking

5. Obesity

6. Physical activity

7. Injury prevention

8. Teenage pregnancy

9. Sexually transmitted infections

10. Alcohol use and misuse

11. Drug use and misuse

12. Mental health and mental health promotion

13. Tackling inequalities in health

14. Helping individuals to change behaviour

Subject Areas: Public health & preventive medicine [MBN]