The Un-Natural History of Public Health: From Epidemics and Injuries to Chronic Illness and Bio-Terrorism

Award Year: 2002	Investigator: Gerald Markowitz, David Rosner	Budget: $272,042	Categories: Public Health Strategies, History of Health Policy and Public Health
Abstract: Since September 2001, America's public health infrastructure has received more attention than at any time since the polio vaccination campaigns of the 1950s. David Rosner, Ph.D., M.P.H. and co-principal investigator Gerald Markowitz, Ph.D. address the effects on the field of public health of new mandates and resources aimed at protecting Americans from bioterrorism. Their project, The Un-Natural History of Public Health, takes a fresh look at the history of public health and examines the U.S. experience with crises, disease, and mortality from the 1900s to the present. The investigators will consider the physical, political, and social changes that have affected the American experience of illness and death and the structure of public health services. Their work will provide a broad historical perspective and new insights for future public health policymaking.