This book offers students the opportunity to develop and practice the skills needed in order to make difficult public health decisions. It presents fifteen public health case studies that address a wide array of challenging and complex public health issues. These case studies attempt to vicariously place the reader into a position in which he or she is required to size up the situation and suggest some action for the organization. This case approach provides students with a perspective concerning the complexity of the issues that public health organizations face, practice in discerning critical problems and opportunities, application of theory, and an understanding of the inter-relatedness of organizational and public health core functions.

The cases are based on field research conducted in a variety of public heatlh agencies. Many have been co-authored by public health practitioners. The cases encompass all of the core public health disciplines and engage the student in integrating these disciplines into management and leadership practice.