The Department, which is based in the Medical School with its affiliated research units, has more than 60 members of staff variously engaged in teaching, research and health service work. Public health is concerned with improving the health of populations. To this end, its research involves the search for causes of illness, prevention and health promotion, and planning, management and evaluation of health and medical care.
Close ties exist between the academic and service departments.
All medically qualified academic staff have honorary service contracts and undertake service responsibilities. The Department is part of the Institute of Applied Health Sciences within the faculty which seeks to apply the methods of epidemiology, health services research and health economics to clinical topics of public health interest. The course is recognised by the Medical Research Council and receives funding through an Advanced Course Studentship. The degree programme is one of few offering such training and therefore employment is usually secured quickly. With UCL, the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam and the International Health Centre at Bergen, and with collaborators in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Ethiopia, Professor Smith continues his work on the control and prevention of leprosy.