The Public Health Crisis Survival Guide: Leadership and Management in Trying Times

by Joshua M Sharfstein

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

· 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.

Genres: Nonfiction

232 pages, Paperback

Published June 19, 2018

Reviews

[Heine Hagenberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and interresting

Nice overview of the handeling of public health crisis, usefull advice in accesible format. God advice on public relations management.

[Taryn Vian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, interesting case studies. Dr. Sharfstein doesn’t shy away from sharing mistakes as well as successes in handling public health crises. Good approaches to keep in mind. Useful for training public health students, especially those with experience or in an executive MPH program.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was... fine. My opinion is likely influenced by the fact that I wasn’t the target audience for this book (public sector public health professionals in [high stakes] leadership roles). My overall approach to this book was highlight what resonates and leave the rest. I do wish there had been a greater variety of sources for each chapter and a greater variety of authors cited and that the cited case studies weren’t just selected highlights of his own career and a few of, who I assume, are friends/colleagues. Furthermore, as we got closer to the ending there were a few typos which made me wonder if the end of the book was rushed and/or the editor(s) weren’t totally on their game. It was generally interesting to be reminded of some public health history I had forgotten and frankly liked immersing myself in public health reading that wasn’t about coronavirus.

[Amy Phelps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for work - I found the sections about messaging very helpful.

[Lukas Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

“There’s a name for the day when crises hit public health agencies: Monday. Also Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”

This book should be required reading for any individual working in local or state public health. Quick and entertaining read.