AJPH
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Purchase Article
Right arrow View Shopping Cart
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Gollust, S. E.
Right arrow Articles by Jacobson, P. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Gollust, S. E.
Right arrow Articles by Jacobson, P. D.
Related Collections
Right arrow Ethics
Right arrow Health Law
Right arrow Health Policy
Right arrow Public Health Practice
October 2006, Vol 96, No. 10 | American Journal of Public Health 1733-1739
© 2006 American Public Health Association
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2005.068007

GOVERNMENT, POLITICS, AND LAW

Privatization of Public Services: Organizational Reform Efforts in Public Education and Public Health

Sarah E. Gollust, BA and Peter D. Jacobson, JD, MPH

Sarah E. Gollust is with the Department of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor. Peter D. Jacobson is with the Department of Health Management and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Peter D. Jacobson, JD, MPH, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 109 Observatory, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029 (e-mail: pdj{at}umich.edu).

The public health and the public education systems in the United States have encountered problems in quality of service, accountability, and availability of resources. Both systems are under pressure to adopt the general organizational reform of privatization. The debate over privatization in public education is contentious, but in public health, the shift of functions from the public to the private sector has been accepted with limited deliberation.

We assess the benefits and concerns of privatization and suggest that shifting public health functions to the private sector raises questions about the values and mission of public health. Public health officials need to be more engaged in a public debate over the desirability of privatization as the future of public health.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am. J. Public HealthHome page
P. J. Neumann, P. D. Jacobson, and J. A. Palmer
Measuring the Value of Public Health Systems: The Disconnect Between Health Economists and Public Health Practitioners
Am J Public Health, December 1, 2008; 98(12): 2173 - 2180.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2006 by the American Public Health Association