Principles & Practice of Public Health Surveillance

Public health surveillance is the systematic, ongoing assessment of the health of a community, based on the collection, interpretation, and use of health data. Surveillance provides information necessary for public health decision making and interventions. In the third edition of Principles and Practice of Public Health Surveillance, the editors present an organized approach to planning, developing, and implementing public health surveillance systems in response to the rapidly changing field of public health. Substantially revised and expanded on, this edition continues to examine further the expansion of surveillance of disease and health determinants, as well as the recent advances in data management and informatics. Major sections of the book focus on bioresponse and preparedness, risk behaviors, and environmental exposure, while the ethical considerations and policy justification for public health surveillance are also explored.

Drawing largely from the experience of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other experts in the field, this book provides an excellent framework that collectively improves the surveillance foundation of public health. It will continue to serve as the standard text in the field, an invaluable resource for public health students and the desk reference for public health practitioners.

Lisa M. Lee, Ph.D., is the Assistant Science Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Lee has worked as an epidemiologist and surveillance scientist for over 20 years at the state, federal, and international levels. At CDC she led the national HIV/AIDS surveillance activities including development and implementation of new national HIV incidence and viral resistance surveillance systems. Dr. Lee is a recognized leader in the development and evaluation of surveillance systems and the ethics of public health surveillance.
Steven M. Teutsch, M.D., M.P.H., is the Chief Science Officer for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. He is retired from CDC where he coordinated CDC's surveillance systems. He has also worked in the pharmaceutical industry and is a recognized authority on economic evaluation, evidence-based public health, and comparative effectiveness.
Stephen B. Thacker, M.D., M.Sc., serves as CDC's Deputy Director for Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services. Since coming to CDC in 1976, he has served in senior leadership roles in epidemiology, public health surveillance, environmental health, injury prevention and control, workforce development and public health informatics. He has published over 200 articles in a broad range of fields in public health, including nearly 50 articles on public health surveillance.
Michael E. St. Louis, M.D., is the Associate Director for Science in the Center for Global Health at CDC. He has established and used surveillance systems, conducted outbreak investigations, and implemented disease control initiatives for diverse diseases on four continents for more than 20 years. Recently he has focused on controlling diseases of global health significance, including HIV infection, other sexually transmitted diseases, novel influenza strains, and health impacts of climate change.