Main description:

Firefighters are taught to battle flames. Police learn to respond quickly to 911 calls.

So why are so few health officials prepared for public health crises?

The Public Health Crisis Survival Guide is here to help. Whether it's an infectious disease outbreak, a scathing news report, or a sudden budget calamity, this book gives public health readers an honest and practical overview of what to do when things go wrong - not just to survive, but to lead and thrive in the most difficult circumstances.

With examples drawn from history, recent headlines, and the author's own experience at the local, state, and federal levels, this book covers:

* how to recognize, manage, and communicate in a crisis
* how to pivot from managing a crisis to advocating for long-term policy change that can prevent the crisis from happening again
* how to awaken a sense of crisis on a longstanding problem to generate momentum for change
* taboo topics, including whether and how to apologize for mistakes

Written by a voice of experience, practicality, and good humor, The Public Health Crisis Survival Guide will be a source of enrichment and reassurance for the next generation of public health students and practitioners.

Contents:

Preface

1. Introduction

Part I

2. Elixir Sulfanilamide

3. Thalidomide

Sidebar 3.1 Frances Kelsey, the Heroine of the FDA
Grace Mandel

4. The Swine Flu of 1976

5. HIV

Part II

6. Recognizing a Crisis

7. Crisis Management

Sidebar 7.1 Flint, Michigan: More than Safe Water
Nicole Lurie, MD, MSPH

8. Communications and Politics

Sidebar 8.1 Bellevue Hospital: Losing Credibility
Grace Mandel

Sidebar 8.2 Smallpox at the NIH
Edward L. Hunter

9. Preventing the Next Crisis

Sidebar 9.1 Responding to the Newton Shootings
Governor Martin O'Malley

Sidebar 9.2 Opportunity in Crisis: Jack-in-the-Box and the FDA
Grace Mandel

Part III

10. Responsibility and Blame

11. Opportunity in Crisis

Appendix