Recognising the inadequacy of public health responses that focus solely on individual behaviour change to improve population health outcomes, this textbook promotes a more holistic approach. Discussing the structural factors related to health and well-being that are both within and outside of an individual's control, it explores what form structural approaches can take, the underlying theory of structure as a risk factor and the local realities, environments, and priorities that public health practitioners need to take into consideration.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, key public health issues and challenges have taken centre stage. They range from arsenic in drinking water to asthma among children and adults; from the re-emergence of cholera, to increasing cancer rates and other chronic diseases; from AIDS to malaria and hepatitis; from the crises faced by displaced or refugee populations to the new challenges that have emerged for reproductive health and rights. Like most aspects of contemporary life, these problems have been impacted by globalization. The issues that confront us are being shaped by evolving...