Whither public health?

Abstract

This paper examines the future of Schools of Public Health in the United States. The history of Schools of Public Health is developed by tracing the history of the philanthropies which supported scientific medicine and public health in the early decades of the twentieth century. The role of the theory of disease in shifting the focus of public health from the community to the laboratory is explored. This paper argues that Schools of Public Health have lost their legitimacy and no longer have any content area or discipline for which they alone are responsible. The declining public image of public health is explored in light of the recent swine flu and legionnaire disease episodes. The current tendencies of Schools of Public Health as miniature business schools or as departments of medical schools are explored and criticized and a revitalized curriculum for Schools of Public Health is posited.