A comprehensive introduction to public health through a social justice and equity lens.

Understanding Health introduces foundational knowledge for a broad range of contemporary health subjects. It explains the various factors that influence health, and what we can do as a society to improve people’s health and wellbeing. This book encourages students to analyse the complex range of interactions that influence health at individual, community and global levels through a social justice and health equity lens.

Relevant to many fields of study, this new edition will help students deeply engage with the perspectives of different sectors and industries to broaden their understanding and expand how they think about health. It has been comprehensively updated to align with contemporary public health topics including epidemiological concepts and COVID-19 discussions.

A new, flexible structure provides an accessible text with rich pedagogical features and learning tools to assist students in developing the knowledge and skills they need for the many varied health challenges they will experience throughout their career.

NEW TO THIS EDITION

• Nine new chapters address the most relevant and important challenges for, and changes in, public health:
  • Chapter 6: Measuring health status of Australians
  • Chapter 8: Primary health care systems in Australia
  • Chapter 9: Primary health care in practice
  • Chapter 13: Working with indigenous communities
  • Chapter 14: Gender matters
  • Chapter 15: Migration and Australia: attitudes, health and politics
  • Chapter 16: Food, food systems and health
  • Chapter 18: Anti-science and public health
  • Chapter 19: Public health in the post-truth world
• New case studies on topics including COVID-19, global migration, climate change, anti-science and public health misinformation equip students with real-world examples and questions.
• New Pause for Reflection questions encourage students to reflect on key learnings as they read each chapter.
• New Review your Learning questions test student’s comprehension on the content they have learnt.
• Revised Discussion Questions promote deeper thinking, knowledge and skill development.

1. Understanding health: an introduction
2. Public health
3. Determinants of health
4. Population health and prevention
5. Epidemiology
6. Measuring the health status of Australians
7. Health systems and policy
8. Primary health care systems in Australia
9. Primary health care in practice
10. Health promotion
11. Human rights and public health
12. Understanding global health
13. Working with indigenous communities
14. Gender matters
15. Migration and Australia: attitudes, health and politics
16. Food, food systems and health
17. Environment, climate change and health
18. Anti-science and public health
19. Public health in the post-truth world

Helen Keleher is Managing Director of Keleher Consulting, and Adjunct Professor in Health Science at Monash University.

Colin MacDougall is Emeritus Professor of Public Health at Flinders University and is an Honorary at the School of Population and Global Health at University of Melbourne.

The following resources are available for lecturers who prescribe Understanding Health, fifth edition, for their course:

• An Instructor’s Resource Manual complements the content of the book with suggested teaching and learning exercises and assessment strategies. These are designed for online and flexible teaching and learning as well as face to face exercises.
• Test bank.

Click here to access the full list of lecturer resources

Read a sample chapter from Understanding Health:

Chapter 1: Understanding health: an introduction