Real Collaboration: What It Takes for Global Health to Succeed

The author cites evidence of an epidemiological shift in chronic, lifestyle-related “diseases of affluence.” Obesity, diabetes, and lung cancer are on the rise in poorer populations, resulting in an increase in health disparities, since the poor already suffered a disproportionate risk for acute diseases. Access to alcohol, tobacco, and junk food in developing areas has far outrun access to affordable good food, health care, and education. Poor and underserved populations are also at disproportionate risk in times of public health emergencies. Isolation and quarantine disproportionately affect the poor, who can less afford lost wages. In an epidemic, biological warfare, or bioterrorism situation there will be population disparities in exposure, susceptibility, and treatment. Advances in the field of genomics are also likely to affect public health differently across populations. Advances in genetic detection and therapy will be expensive, and not available to the poor. Public Health Law & Ethics is a comprehensive and balanced anthology that explores an important, complex, and dynamic field of study. The structure and content are most appropriate for graduate-level studies, although the material is reasonably accessible for undergraduate students. The reviewers highly recommend it for practitioners, instructors, and students in the fields of public health, law, and public administration. —reviewed by Debra Rose Wilson, PhD, MSN, RN, IBCLC, AHN-BC, CHT and William A. Wilson, BIS