ABSTRACT
The public health community is currently situated at the fulcrum of many of society’s greatest challenges. Population health, chronic disease, emergency preparedness, and even the more familiar ground of infectious disease are all fraught with uncertainties to which public health will need to respond in the years to come. Such responses will often require signifi cant changes from the kinds of responses public health agencies have utilized in the past. The four alternative public health scenarios presented in this report invite readers to recognize that the future is uncertain, but can be bounded using the knowledge we have today. Further, public health leaders have an opportunity to infl uence which future unfolds and how. This report seeks to equip these leaders with a broader awareness of the relevant trends and forces so that they can more adroitly shape the future of public health.
