2008
Welcome
Without a doubt, the field of public health is very broad, encompassing a wide range of skills, knowledge, and focus areas. Such diversity creates a challenge when practitioners are asked to define public health. A casual conversation can quickly turn into a Public Health 101 lecture.
A better approach—one that paints a clearer picture—might be to explain what public health does. By using concrete and relevant examples, we can describe how public health improves the conditions and behaviors that affect everyone’s health. Research is a vital component of this process, providing data and evidence to help shape policy, guide treatments, and address pressing health concerns.
This issue of In the Field describes several examples of what College of Public Health researchers are doing to make the world a healthier place. Articles highlight the college’s scholarly ties to the West African country of The Gambia, the complexities of medication use in older adults, and the mysteries of brain aneurysms. Long-time faculty member Sam Levey shares his insights on the evolution of the health management field and the qualities of leadership. Two Iowa-based studies examine munitions workers’ health and findings about obstetric complications in new mothers.
Public health may be challenging to define, but its effects are felt profoundly by each of us every day, from the water we drink to the health care we receive. Such immediacy makes public health a rewarding and exciting field, and I hope you enjoy reading more about the research activity taking place in the college.
Leon F. Burmeister, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Research and Academic Affairs
The University of Iowa College of Public Health