Public health and health administration: collaboration or competition? An Australian perspective

The Review of Postgraduate Public Health Training in Australia 1988, commissioned by the Australian Public Health Association, identified as a major issue the degree of collaboration between independent postgraduate courses in health administration and courses in public health. This paper suggests that the two fields share the common goal of health service education, which they pursue by the respective pathways of effectiveness and efficiency. We argue that the identity and the complementarity of the disciplines are best served by a collaborative model and discuss ways to encourage and achieve this aim.