On an unassuming corner in central London sits the Broad Street pump where, in 1854, physician John Snow hypothesized that it may be the source of a cholera outbreak ravaging the city. His insight inadvertently launched the modern field of epidemiology.
Today epidemiology is a cornerstone of public health education. It has contributed to the extraordinary success of the field in preventing and combating disease—particularly by focusing on populations and their relationship to policy. However, the traditional competencies taught in public health schools, such as biostatistics or health services administration, by themselves can only help so much to address the threat of new pathogens, the impact of climate change on health, or the role of global corporations in affecting our health. As in Snow's time, an expanded set of skills are needed for public health leaders.…
The remainder of this commentary is available on ssir.org.
