Go where the problems are -- Get into the field -- Forget the job description -- Don't count on things staying the same -- Follow most, but not all, of the rules -- Collect good data, even if you don't yet know what important questions they might answer -- Remember your humanity -- Use data to set policy -- If you think you're right, keep pushing -- Take the long view
Summary
A personal tale of the rise of public health.There are occasions when a story told from a personal viewpoint can illuminate a profession. This epidemiological memoir is such a book. Adventurous, illuminating, and thought provoking, this is more than the story of one man's work. It tells the tale of how epidemiology grew into global health. The book is organized around ten lessons the author learned as his career took him around the world, and within these lessons, he explains how the modern era of public health research was born. Three themes emerge from the author's story: the duty to help your fellow human beings by traveling to places where there are problems; the knowledge that data-driven research is the key to improving public health; and the need to persevere with sensitivity and strength when science and cultural or sociological forces clash