WP, pg1: For a Global Generation, Public Health Is a Hot Field

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For a Global Generation, Public Health Is a Hot Field
By David Brown
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 19, 2008; A01

Courses in epidemiology, public health and global health -- three subjects that were not offered by most colleges a generation ago -- are hot classes on campuses these days. They are drawing undergraduates to lecture halls in record numbers, prompting a scramble by colleges to hire faculty and import ready-made courses. Schools that have taught the subjects for years have expanded their offerings in response to surging demand....

"Today's students want to contribute, to empower individuals and communities to take charge of their own health," said Ruth Gaare Bernheim, who teaches health policy at the University of Virginia. "I think they also intuitively realize that the world is their community and that the gains of the 21st century will be in global public health."...

Many forces have converged to make these subjects competitive for students' attention. For starters, global health is a huge growth industry. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has spent about $15 billion in the past five years, and funding is being nearly tripled for the next five. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are channeling billions into public health initiatives. Malaria eradication -- which failed in the 1950s and 60s -- is again on the table.

Furthermore, the headlines are full of global health news. Today's freshmen experienced the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and bird flu scares in their adolescent and high school years, and they have lived their entire lives in the shadow of AIDS. "It would not have happened without AIDS," said Thomas Coates, head of the global health program at the University of California at Los Angeles, describing the new interest in public health....But the benefits of studying public health go considerably beyond understanding infectious disease.

The concepts introduced in basic epidemiology courses include causation and correlation, absolute risk and relative risk, biological plausibility and statistical uncertainty. Nearly all health stories in the news -- from the possible hazards of bisphenol A in plastics and the theory that vaccines cause autism, to racial disparities in health care and missteps in the investigation of tainted peppers -- are better understood with grounding in that discipline. Other forces driving interest in public health include the Internet's ability to put students in touch with far-flung people and institutions, and the expectation at many colleges that students will study or work abroad.

Observers also credit a flowering of social consciousness in today's students. While the causes of their parents' generation were fueled by protest and relied heavily on symbolic victories, the interest in public health reflects this generation's more communitarian and practical outlook. "There is a very idealistic aspect to this -- the idea that 'I am living in this world, and it could be a better place,' " Riegelman said. "This is a student-driven movement. The drive is not just intellectual, it is passionate as well."...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/18/AR2008091804145_pf.html