Public Health Policy: Issues, Theories, and Advocacy offers students an engaging and innovative introduction to public health policy: its purpose, how it is originated, and how it is implemented. The book describes the underlying theories and frameworks as well as practical analytical tools needed for effective advocacy and communication. Drawing on the multidisciplinary nature of public health, the book uses concepts and examples from epidemiology, law, economics, political science, and ethics to examine the policymaking process, explain positions pro or con, and develop materials for various audiences to further a public health policy intervention. In addition, Public Health Policy shows how policymaking is a complex and integrated top-down and bottoms-up process that embraces a myriad of public and private stakeholders.

Written by a highly experienced health policy researcher and teacher, the book is rich in resources that will enhance teaching and learning. Each chapter begins with an overview of the chapter, including core terms and concepts, and includes illustrative examples of how the highlighted component (law, ethics, economics, politics, epidemiology, and medicine) intersects with public health. Discussion questions at the end of every chapter, along with an interview from an expert from each of the component fields, give real-world perspectives on how that particular subject relates to the overall topic. The book also contains 13 case studies that illustrate the framework discussed in the first part of the book, and show how the different components link to create, sustain, evaluate, or obstruct the development of public health policy. Also included are primers on two essential policy tools: how to write research policy briefs, and how to craft effective letters to an editor, including examples of both drawn from the author’s publications in journals and newspapers.

Public Health Policy: Issues, Theories, and Advocacy is an introductory text for public health students, providing theoretical frameworks to approach public health policy issues, and practical analytical tools for effective advocacy and communication.  Perspectives are drawn from epidemiology, law, economics, political science, and ethics to engage and examine the policy-making process, articulate positions advocating for (or against) particular interventions, and develop materials for different audiences to further a public health policy intervention. The work illustrates how public health policymaking is a complex and integrated top-down and bottoms-up process that implicates a myriad of public and private stakeholders. This innovative book is intended to provide students with theoretical frameworks to approach public health policy issues, and empower them with practical analytical tools to develop position papers.  Students are given a broad set of conceptual frameworks and analytical tools.  The primary objective is to empower students to articulate precise problem statements, engage in robust multi-disciplinary data analysis, and develop thoughtful recommendations.  The book will be divided into two parts, focused on the development of a broad but robust multidisciplinary framework that draws from public health law, health economics, epidemiology, political science, and ethics.  Part I will introduce essential terms, concepts, and examples to illustrate how the particular component (e.g., law, economics, ethics) intersects with public health.  Individual chapters will be devoted to each component, enabling students to have a broad framework for analysis.  In Part II, students will learn to apply this framework to explore 15 distinct case-studies in select public health policy topics, strategies, and stakeholders.  Appendices of key terms and concepts, an index of seminal legal cases, statistical formulas and methods, and references will also be provided.