Preface<br > In 1988， after extensive review of data， interviews， forums， and analyses， the<br >Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a landmark report， The Future of Public<br >Health. While this report raised questions about many aspects of public health as<br >it was practiced at the time， it also found much to commend. Its primary impact<br >was setting forth a "vision" for public health， including the mission and substance<br >of governmental public health agencies， an organizational framework， and specific<br >recommendations. The Future of Public Health also served as a catalyst for<br >change in the public health system， and the response to the report was wide<br >ranging， varied， and extensive. During the years since The Future of Public<br >Health was released， there has been a significant stren=mlaening of practice by<br >governmental public health agencies in many respects.<br > Almost a decade after the committee that wrote The Future of Public Health<br >was created， the IOM established the Committee on Public Health to review the<br >progress that has been made since the release of The Future of Public Health and<br >to address selected areas that have experienced substantial changes. To assist the<br >committee in its efforts， the IOM also identified a liaison panel of people from<br >government， academia， industry， and citizen and other private-sector groups to<br >help identify emerging issues and to facilitate an informed dialogue on current<br >issues in public health. This group was called the Public Health Rotmdtable.<br > The discussions initiated by the Committee on Public Health were richly<br >substantive and allowed its members to address， fundamental issues in public<br >health that were not being dealt with in other settings. Over a nine-month period，<br >the committee held three meetings focused on (1) progress toward achieving the<br >recommendations presented in The Future of Public Health， (2) the relationship<br >