The Practice of International Health
Edited by Daniel Perlman, Ananya Roy | 2009Published by Oxford University Press
$58.95
The Practice of International Health comprises a series of vivid first-person accounts in which physicians, epidemiologists, health workers, and public health professionals from around the world present the challenges facing the field. These case studies give voice to the real experiences of public health practitioners and the ethical choices they face — and encourage the reader to reflect upon the complex ethics of public health work.
“...the practice of public health inevitably engages with public issues such as social struggle, political intrigue, and ethical calculations...”
— The Practice of International HealthThe outcome of a five-year collaboration between the editors and contributors in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, The Practice of International Health contains inspirational and cautionary tales drawn from public health practice. Each case is introduced by the editors, written by a key figure in the story, and followed by a series of practical questions and other learning tools to help examine the pertinent issues and debates.
Virtually every school of public health teaches a global health course, yet the major textbooks provide little on the actual practice of international health. Aimed primarily at medical and public health students and professionals, this book is a much-needed addition to the existing literature. People in related fields such as development and urban studies will also find this book an engaging introduction to the core issues of international development.
Praise for The Practice of International Health
"The Practice of International Health is a beautifully conceived and beautifully written book. It offers an inspiring example of what may be accomplished when scholars with field experience break free of rigid disciplinary boundaries in order to examine key problems in international health. This case-based approach is precisely the one that will allow us to build a new field based on broad understandings of these problems and on the solutions that might follow. The need for and vibrant potential of such a focus on practice that resonates in every page of this book signals its profound relevance to students and teachers of public health, and, one hopes, to policy makers and funders.”— Paul Farmer, MD; Harvard Medical School; Co-Founder, Partners in Health
"I have great respect for the work this book represents, and I am thankful that Perlman and Roy took it on...The case studies are, as a whole, extremely accessible, written in a narrative style that is easy to get through."
— Medical Anthropology Quarterly
