Public health is high on the policy agenda as a result of deteriorating population health, including an obesity epidemic, growing alcohol use, a rise in sexually transmitted infections, widening health inequalities, and the risks of terrorism. But the rediscovery of public health is not so much new as it is old with a new emphasis: a narrow downstream focus on individual lifestyles and behavior in place of an upstream focus on the socio-economic determinants of health.

On Tuesday, February 27, 2007, the NYU Master’s Program in Global Public Health, in collaboration with the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at NYU, will present a panel discussion entitled “The New Public Health in Europe: Focus on Britain and France.” The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Silver Board Room (Room 914) at the NYU Kimmel Center for University Life, 60 Washington Square South, Manhattan. It will conclude at 8:30 p.m.

The panel of international experts will include Dr. David Hunter (Durham University), Dr. Jacques Drucker (Embassy of France), and Dr. Richard Alderslade (New York University). The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Victor Rodwin, professor of health policy and management at NYU Wagner.

The panel will confront the issue of deteriorating public health and focus on the corollary questions: why has there been a shift from an upstream to a downstream focus; how do the U.K. and France compare in the ways they have chosen to renovate their public health infrastructure; and, is there a convergence among European nations in confronting public health challenges?

Please RSVP to zm10@nyu.edu. Journalists wishing to attend should contact robert.polner@nyu.edu.

Press Contact

Robert Polner
Robert Polner
(212) 998-2337