The Turning Point

In the early years of COVID-19, Americans witnessed the intersection of a global pandemic, an economic collapse, and civil unrest that galvanized the country and the world and ushered in an era of unprecedented disruption. Three years later, we can begin to reflect on the experience of the pandemic and ask ourselves how the lessons of that experience can inform a healthier present and future.

The Turning Point: Reflections on a Pandemic examines the first years of COVID-19 through the lens of population health, revealing a critical turning point in our engagement with key public health issues. Through a series of short, provocative essays, the authors leverage their experience as prominent public health leaders to untangle the social, economic, environmental, and political forces at work in our response to the pandemic. Combining cutting-edge data with philosophical insights, these bold and revelatory essays encourage us to broaden and sharpen our vision of health and renegotiate policies that can allow health to flourish in extraordinary-and ordinary-times.

Available to order here

Reviews

"The Turning Point: Reflections on a Pandemic is a profound, comprehensive and thought-provoking analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic and its far-reaching effects on our society. This fascinating book explores the intersection of public health, policy, and human behavior and offers a roadmap for building a healthier future.” —Laura Magaña, PhD, President & CEO Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH)

"Uniquely insightful and admirably-researched, The Turning Point offers a bold new approach to pandemic preparedness - one focused on overall health and well-being." — Martin A. Makary, M.D., M.P.H., New York Times bestselling Author of The Price We Pay

"The Turning Point: Reflections on a Pandemic is a timely expose of the COVID-19 pandemic and its broader impact through the lens of lessons learned that can inform future public health emergencies and responses. It is an important and valuable read for policy makers and preparedness planners who desire not to repeat our most recent mistakes." — Georges C. Benjamin, MD, executive director, American Public Health Association

"The Turning Point offers frank and thought-provoking reflections on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic from two of the nation's most prominent public health thought leaders. Stein and Galea's roadmap on how to prevent and respond to future epidemics should foster community resilience, putting the 'public' back in 'public health'. Written in an approachable style that should appeal to everyone, its essays should be required reading for public health students, policymakers and health journalists." — Steffanie Strathdee, PhD, Harold Simon Distinguished Professor, University of California San Diego Department of Medicine and author of The Perfect Predator: A Scientist’s Race to Save Her Husband fom a Deadly Superbug

Within Reason

A provocative chronicle of how US public health has strayed from its liberal roots.

View all reviews here.

The Covid-19 response was a crucible of politics and public health—a volatile combination that produced predictably bad results. As scientific expertise became entangled with political motivations, the public-health establishment found itself mired in political encampment.

It was, as Sandro Galea argues, a crisis of liberalism: a retreat from the principles of free speech, open debate, and the pursuit of knowledge through reasoned inquiry that should inform the work of public health.

Across fifty essays, Within Reason chronicles how public health became enmeshed in the insidious social trends that accelerated under Covid-19. Galea challenges this intellectual drift towards intolerance and absolutism while showing how similar regressions from reason undermined social progress during earlier eras. Within Reason builds an incisive case for a return to critical, open inquiry as a guiding principle for the future public health we want—and a future we must work to protect.

Available to pre-order here.

Reviews

“Galea is a good companion in navigating readers through the political thickets in which public health now operates.” — Sir Michael Marmot, The Lancet

“Galea makes a powerful case that to carry the worst illiberal outcomes from the pandemic into the next crisis would be a devastating mistake.” — Pamela Paul, The New York Times Opinion

“With equal dose of empathy and examination, Sandro Galea challenges us to undertake a deep exercise of self-reflection: how our hard-won political beliefs may betray us in the hope for a greater good. Within Reason is critically relevant for each of us--and all of us.” — Julio Frenk, University of Miami

Powerful, erudite, and immersive--an essential treatise on our needed reformation in public health. — Alonzo Plough, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

“The COVID-19 pandemic created a ripple effect across many facets of society. The field of public health was not immune tothe effects of this transformative event. In Within Reason, Galea (dean, Boston Univ. School of Public Health) provides acollection of his own essays to explore how the pandemic impacted public health in the US, alongside other general issuesthe pandemic exposed. In addition to providing incisive analysis on this topic, Galea’s essays provide a powerful and thought-provoking look at the trends in public health that were accelerated due to the pandemic. Of importance is the trend away froma science-based approach to addressing public health issues and toward greater reliance on subjectivity. As a STEM-basedfield, public health is grounded in science and scientific methodology to inform researchers and policymakers in their decision-making processes. Galea argues for a return to critical thinking and inquiry as the backbone of public health and warns of aloss of trust in the future if researchers and policymakers fail to do so.” — K. R. Thompson, Missouri State University

Public Health, 2nd Edition

James M. Schultz, Lisa M. Sullivan, and Sandro Galea

The second edition of Public Health: An Introduction to the Science and Practice of Population Health is expanded in both scope and depth of content to better aid students who are launching their public health studies and preparing for professions in the field. This edition features a greater emphasis on the social determinants of health, health equity, prevention of disease and disability, and the practice of public health. Public Health explores both historical public health issues and contemporary public health challenges—including environmental justice, food deserts, climate change, and COVID-19—through the social ecological lens and with a life course perspective. In addition to establishing a solid knowledge base on the foundations, functions, and core values of public health, the book presents an engaging survey of the social ecological framework and of the demographic factors affecting health at different life stages. The methods of public health, including analytic approaches, systems thinking, implementation science, community engagement, and advocacy, are examined, helping students understand the structural underpinnings of population health. Written by leading public health educators and containing engaging case studies, including unique case study podcasts, illustrations, real-world examples, and discussion questions, every chapter analyzes systemic public health issues and the workforce roles driving and implementing public health initiatives and programs in practice.

The Commercial Determinants of Health

Edited by Nason Maani, Mark Petticrew, and Sandro Galea

An accessible multidisciplinary overview for anyone seeking to understand the commercial determinants of health

Our health is largely shaped by the world around us ; by the conditions in which we grow, work, and live. These conditions include the commercial determinants of health, the private sector activities which influence our physical and social environments, our available evidence and solutions, and even our discourse and understanding around key health and social issues.

Until recently, commercial determinants have remained largely absent from our conceptual understanding of the drivers of health. The scale of their potential impact necessitates a multidisciplinary and intersectional approach, but no book has yet explored the commercial impacts on health in their totality.

This pioneering volume sheds light on how commercial determinants shape health directly and indirectly through influencing policy, evidence, and discourse. Featuring original cross-sector research, The Commercial Determinants of Health draws on insights from a wide-ranging group of experts who introduce the commercial determinants of health and describe the proximal and distal pathways through which they affect population health. Each chapter further illustrates the health impact of commercial actors, including through multidisciplinary case studies ranging from tobacco to fossil fuels. Together, these essays seek to integrate new and emerging research across public health, economics, and policy to enrich our understanding and responses to the commercial determinants of health.

Available to purchase here and via ebook.

Reviews

“…The book's chapters span the myriad of ways that profit-seeking actors and activities ‘influence health at every level of society, directly and indirectly’. The aim of the authors is to take stock of this ‘rapidly growing field’ and grow this community of scholars, policy makers, and advocates. This community, including the contributors to this book, have successfully exposed the wide-ranging health-harming activities of certain industries dominated by transnational corporations…”

— Dr. Kelley Lee, The Lancet

“The recently published book, The Commercial Determinants of Health, provides an overview of the current debates surrounding how commercial actors influence population health. The term commercial determinants of health, while relatively new, offers an important conceptual framework to more fully understand the factors that impact health. The book also provides an opportunity to elaborate on the possibilities to build healthy public policy and enrich our scholarly and teaching activities within schools of public health and the social science faculties.”

— Dr. Steve Machat, Healthy Populations Journal

“This book is comprehensive, well curated and thoughtfully structured. It is an important book for anyone interested in this area, which, considering the reach of money, profit, power and influence, should be everyone.”

— Dr. Robert Calder, Addiction

The Picture of Health

Michael Stein and Sandro Galea

The Picture of Health is an essential resource for students and early-career professionals learning the importance of public health storytelling. This introductory book breaks down public health issues through 100 compelling databytes of pictures and text that can stand alone as research summaries compared to table and chart-heavy papers. Through curating these databytes, The Picture of Health shows how public health workers can combine visuals with data to create a larger storyline about the issues, conditions, and pressures that shape the health of populations.

Now available

Order the e-book here from APHA or APHA Press.

Migration and Health

Sandro Galea, Catherine K. Ettman, and Muhammad H. Zaman

A new introduction to a timeless dynamic: how the movement of humans affects health everywhere.
International migrants compose more than three percent of the world’s population, and internal migrants—those migrating within countries—are more than triple that number. Population migration has long been, and remains today, one of the central demographic shifts shaping the world around us. The world’s history—and its health—is shaped and colored by stories of migration patterns, the policies and political events that drive these movements, and narratives of individual migrants. Read more.

Now available

Order here.

The Contagion Next Time

Sandro Galea

Reviews

View all reviews here.

“In this unforgettable book, Sandro Galea expertly demonstrates that our investing in the healthiest population possible is literally an act of national security against a future pandemic. The Contagion Next Time issues a clear warning, and a clear way forward. This book can save us if we are serious about saving ourselves.”

— Ibram X. Kendi, bestselling author of Stamped from the Beginning and How to Be an Antiracist

“Dr. Galea’s book proves it is possible for us to build a healthier world after Covid-19—and the first step is to protect the most vulnerable, whether they’re in our own neighborhoods or across the globe. The Contagion Next Time is truly a must read.”

— Katie Couric, award-winning journalist

“Dr. Galea’s compelling and compassionate new book shows us how we must create a strong foundation in order to avert further pandemics. He urges us to address our pervasive but neglected nonmedical issues, including the American tradition of proud individualism that prevents us from recognizing how our health is interconnected, and reminds us, vividly, that until we begin to invest in our communal physical and mental health, we will remain vulnerable to future threats.”

— Rosalynn Carter, former First Lady

Now available

Order on Amazon, Oxford University Press, or from and independent book store near you.

Pained: Uncomfortable Conversations about the Public's Health

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Michael Stein and Sandro Galea

Reviews

"In these pithy essays, Michael Stein and Sandro Galea convincingly show that American health depends less on medical care than on the state of our jobs, families, social networks, and environment. Recommended for anyone with an interest in public health." -- Sandeep Jauhar, author of Heart: A History


"A stellar essay will inform, captivate, and motivate the reader to action. In this respect, Sandro Galea and Michael Stein contribute not one, but more than 50 essays illustrating in their compelling fashion how healthy people represent more than just the integrity of their DNA and the quality of their medical care. In Pained, Galea and Stein underscore at once the magnitude of the challenges, the public nature of the solutions, and their daunting prospects. Fortunately, the public health community is accustomed to daunting challenges, and this book will serve as an important resource for development of the strategies required." -- Michael McGinnis, National Academy of Medicine

Urban Health

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Sandro Galea, Catherine K. Ettman, and David Vlahov

Winner of 2020 Professional and Scholarly Excellence Award by Association of American Publishers and the 2019 Book of the Year Award in Environmental Health by the American Journal of Nursing.

Reviews

“This unique book provides a comprehensive discussion of urban health that has not been previously addressed. The wide array of topics is an attractive feature capable of reaching a broad and diverse audience. This is a must read for individuals interested in gaining a deeper understanding of how cities themselves constitute an influential determinant of health capable of impacting the health and well-being of urban dwellers.”

-Doody ‘s Review Service

Well: What We Need To Talk About When We Talk About Health

Sandro Galea

Reviews

“A deeply affecting work from one of the important and innovating voices in American health and medicine.” -Ariana Huffington, Thrive Global

“For 45 years I have fought for equity, compassion, and inclusion in mental health, so I am thrilled to see Sandro Galea’s Well take the revolutionary and compelling stance that these principles can have a more beneficial effect upon public health than any scientific discovery.” - Rosalynn Carter, Former first lady

Healthier: Fifty Thoughts on the Foundations of Population Health

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Sandro Galea

Reviews

"He is out to change the narrative, the way we think, feel, and act about the health of populations of people." -Lloyd I. Sederer, Book Forum in The American Journal of Psychiatry 

"From the modern epidemic of suicide among middle-aged Americans to the lessons we can draw from the undrinkable drinking water in Flint, Michigan, Galea has produced a compendium of teachable surprises." -Clifton Leaf, Fortune

The British Medical Association named Healthier a "Highly Commended" book in the 2018 Medical book awards.

“Galea wants his readers to be advocates, and he does an excellent job of providing them with a vast array of issues to explore while being honest about the challenges ahead for the field.” -Amanda Matheson, Population Health Management

Growing Inequality: Bridging Complex Systems, Population Health, and Health Disparities

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George A. Kaplan, Ana V. Diez Roux, Carl P. Simon, and Sandro Galea

 Reviews

"...this book has something for everyone interested in epidemiology. It is a master-class in how to model and how to apply complexity thinking to public health problems." -Jeffrey Braithwaite, International Journal of Epidemiology 

"The complex systems model of understanding health disparities and population health emphasizes the importance of understanding systems as a whole to comprehend how population health patterns emerge." -Manuel Franco, American Journal of Public Health

"...the field may look back at the book by Kaplan et al. as a seminal work that helped launch a new literature." -Steven Woolf, American Journal of Preventative Medicine

Epidemiology Matters: A New Introduction to Methodological Foundations

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Katherine M. Keyes and Sandro Galea 

Reviews

"...their approach is novel...and could potentially facilitate access to modern epidemiology for a public currently baffled by the often abstract and mathematical content of textbooks." -Alfredo Morabia, American Journal of Epidemiology

"The authors provide a clear introduction to central epidemiologic concepts, including causality, internal validity, external validity, study design, and measures of association using a step-by-step approach."  -Kristen A. Hahn, American Journal of Epidemiology

"I was particularly fond of the book's imaginative use of figures that presented many hard-to-explain concepts at a very intuitive level... The authors clearly took their time to empathize with students who may be exposed to this material for the first time."  -Michael Goodman, Annals of Epidemiology 

A Life Course Approach to Mental Disorders

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Karestan C. Koenen, Sasha Rudenstine, Ezra Susser, and Sandro Galea 

Reviews

"The authors have produced a successful, comprehensive overview of current data around the multifactorial, ever-changing aetiology of mental illness. The life course approach will be of use to clinicians working in mental health when modelling the factors contributing to mental illness on a population-wide and individual level, and would be a valuable tool for developing new and exciting approaches to tackling mental illness at a local and national level." -Alex Callear, Madeleine Treavis, and Helen Crimlisk, The British Journal of Psychiatry

This is the personal website of Sandro Galea. All photos are taken by Sandro Galea.