Communicable and Non-Communicable Disease Basics: A Primer

What disease is and how it affects humans is the focus of this primer. Designed to cover the basics of communicable and non-communicable diseases, the book provides a framework for understanding the major health problems in our society. Hurster uses the Biological Laws of Disease to frame each discussion and to demonstrate how these laws relate to the prepathogenesis and pathogenesis stages of the natural history of any disease. Considerable attention is given to the roles of the individual, the community, and the government in bringing about behavior change with respect to disease prevention, detection, control, and management.

MADELINE M. HURSTER is Retired Associate Professor of Health at Queens College, New York. She has served as Coordinator of the college’s Health Education Program and has held offices in several professional health organizations. She is the author of numerous articles as well as the text, Health for Better Living (1964).