An
imminent threat to public health, such as the swine flu outbreak,
is no time for a muddled chain of command and contradictory decision-making.
Who’s
in charge? Leadership during epidemics, bioterror attacks, and
other public health crises explores the crucial relationships between
political leaders, public health officials, journalists and others
to see why leadership confusion develops.
Who’s
in charge? begins by looking at the overarching issues of leadership,
public health administration and the threats of bioterrorism. It
then examines five recent emergencies, namely: the 2001 anthrax
attacks and 1993 cryptosporidium outbreak in the United States,
the 2003 SARS outbreak in Toronto, the 2001 foot and mouth disease
crisis and the decade-long battle against mad cow disease in the
United Kingdom. In the latter two cases, leaders in veterinary medicine
were interviewed for their experiences during these crises.
A
perfect text for schools in public health, or as a reference for
elected officials at every level of government, the book shows how
each event developed step-by-step to pinpoint specific leadership
issues. Engaging and absorbing, the work presents official reports,
medical literature, first-person accounts from officials and journalists,
and discussions of the role of law enforcement and the military
during health care emergencies.
The
book includes a comprehensive index organised by disease and by
individuals involved in emergency response.
Laura
H. Kahn is a physician and research scholar in the Program on Science
and Global Security at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International
Affairs at Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
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