Landesman Updates Landmark Book Examining Public Health Management of Disasters

Public health practice instructor Linda Landesman has updated her seminal textbook, “Landesman’s Public Health Management of Disasters: The Practice Guide,” to include insights into the COVID-19 pandemic. The book, now in its 5th edition, is published by the American Public Health Association (APHA) Press and is available directly from the APHA Store here or from other retailers.

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Originating in 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 and anthrax attacks, Landesman’s book is now celebrating its 20th anniversary and includes not only lessons learned from the COVID-19 response efforts but from other recent natural disasters such as floods, wildfires, earthquakes and tornadoes. About a third of the newest book focuses on COVID-19 and lessons learned, advances in the practice of preparedness and new challenges. These updates about how public health, health care systems and communities responded to both the pandemic and natural disasters underscore the need for better planning in the United States, at the highest level of preparedness. The new edition also includes the impacts of climate change on health and public health practice.

Landesman, who authored the initial editions and led the team that co-authored the 5th edition, has served as an instructor in the Public Health Practice program teaching Public Health Emergency Management since 2002.

“One of the lessons of COVID is if there is a highly infectious disease anywhere in the world, we must be vigilant and take proactive steps,” Landesman said in an APHA press release. “If you look at the countries which were most successful in containing COVID-19, they took proactive steps in suppressing the spread of the SARS-CoV2 virus almost immediately.”

She adds, “Thinking that catastrophes are rare and that they only happen to other people prevents us from taking the kind of actions needed to be better prepared.”