Building on the core competences for public health, this book focuses on key areas of surveillance and assessment of the population′s health and wellbeing. It is concerned with assessing and describing the needs, health and wellbeing of specific populations, communities and groups. The authors also look at how to monitor these aspects of public health and explore qualitative and quantitative methods for measuring, analysing and interpreting health and wellbeing, needs and outcomes. Case studies, activities and research summaries are used throughout the book to help the reader understand how to apply theory to practice.

The value of this book is twofold in the context of a newly defined Framework. First, it brings to life these competencies in a very practical way with theoretical descriptions, case studies, guided activities designed to apply what the reader has learnt and a couple of references to more in-depth material. Second, it is context specific and designed for evidence development for Public Health at a local level in the UK. -- Christine Stone

John H. Harvey is Professor of Psychology at the University of Iowa.  Formerly, he taught at Vanderbilt, Ohio State, and Texas Tech Universities and was Educational Affairs Officer at the American Psychological Association (APA) from 1981 to 1982.  He is a social psychologist specializing in the study of close relationships, attribution and account making, and loss and trauma phenomena.  He is a Fellow of Division 8 of the APA and was a Fulbright Research Fellow studying loss in Romania in the spring of 1998.  He has authored and/or edited over 20 books and has published 130 articles and chapters.  He was editor of "Contemporary Psychology" from 1992 to 1998 and was founding editor of the "Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology" and the "Journal of Personal and Interpersonal Loss."  With Sage, he published the book "Perspectives on Loss and Trauma: Assaults on the Self" in 2002. Vicki has worked in the NHS since 1985 in a number of public health roles and is now a freelance consultant. She currently is project manager for the Public Health Practitioner Training Scheme based at NHS Education South Central. She has over 20 years experience in health promotion and public health and has taught on a number of Master’s programmes in public health and health promotion (including London Southbank University, Kings College) and is also a Director of the Roundhouse Consultancy MK Ltd.