This book is a comprehensive resource on vaccines and immunizations for primary care physicians, advanced practice providers, and trainees. We are now seeing a rise in measles and the potential for rises in other previously rare infectious diseases, significantly due to public and physician misconceptions and misinformation about vaccines. The text addresses this issue by consolidating historical and current advances in vaccine science from how vaccines are developed to CDC recommendations on how and when to administer them. Expert authors also address barriers to improving vaccination rates in the U.S. and offer evidence-based recommendations on overcoming those barriers. This is an essential guide for primary care physicians, family physicians, pediatricians, internists, residents, medical students, mid-level providers, and learners for understanding vaccines and improving preventative care for their patients.

This book discusses fundamental discourses relating to health in Africa arising out of the consequences of endemic diseases in Africa. It identifies, explains and illustrates the contexts, challenges and efforts to combat these diseases. The book provides a unique comparative analysis of African contexts of health, thereby not ignoring the global contexts of health within which Africa exists. It follows a macro-analytic stance about health in Africa framed around significant/pressing issues. "Discourse of disease" is part of a profound sociological discourse of health in Africa, which provides a framework for students, academics and healthcare practitioners to understand the states of health and healthcare in Africa.

This book examines the gender context of HIV and critiques the global policy response. Anderson contributes to the feminist task of de-invisibilising gender as structural violence and identifies how gendered power structures are responded to at the local level in Malawi.

Using data on health conditions and exposure to air pollution at the individual level from Bangladesh, this book establishes a positive association between air pollution and health risks, including mental health issues and recommends policy options for better adaptation.

Starting with more general issues of healthcare policy and governance in a global perspective and using the lens of national case studies of healthcare reform, this handbook addresses key themes in the debates over changing healthcare policy.

This book shows how living in a highly racialized society affects health through multiple social contexts, including neighborhoods, personal and family relationships, and the medical system. Black-white disparities in health, illness, and mortality have been widely documented, but most research has focused on single factors that produce and perpetuate those disparities, such as individual health behaviors and access to medical care. This is the first book to offer a comprehensive perspective on health and sickness among African Americans, starting with an examination of how race has been historically constructed in the US and in the medical system and the resilience of racial ideologies and practices. Racial disparities in health reflect racial inequalities in living conditions, incarceration rates, family systems, and opportunities. These racial disparities often cut across social class boundaries and have gender-specific consequences. Bringing together data from existing quantitative and qualitative research with new archival and interview data, this book advances research in the fields of families, race-ethnicity, and medical sociology.

Anecdotes and real case studies ripped from the headlines about what doctors did which got them into trouble either with Medicare, HIPAA, The Office of Inspector General (OIG) or worse the FBI. The case studies are true stories of medical professionals: Some are about providers just like you trying to navigate the complex maze of the medical billing process. This guide will help you recognize the red flags and triggers so you can avoid a Medicare Audit. Learn about common problems that plague medical practices. Discover what your peers have done right and what they have done wrong. Avoid the costly billing mistakes and practice mismanagement showcased in Medical Billing Horror Stories. With the changes, challenges and uncertainties facing the Healthcare industry you can't afford to miss this information. If you submit even one claim for reimbursement this is a must read

For decades, educators, historians, and social commentators accorded major responsibility for the reform of medical education in the United States to the Flexner Report of 1910. More recently, historians have begun to challenge the impact of the Report and the desirability of the changes attributed to it. This volume takes the themes articulated in the Report and traces their development. With each theme being discussed by a specialist in the subject area, the book provides a comprehensive review of medical education in the twentieth century. These themes, many of which have not been discussed in other books, include the basic sciences, the clinical curriculum, women in medicine, black medical education, and sectarian medical education. In addition, the volume includes chapters on the evolution of the health care delivery system, trends in financing medical education, the use of outpatient settings for clinical education, the current status of the medical curriculum and needed changes, and health manpower needs. The work concludes with a chapter discussing the current proposals for change and how they relate to the problems and reforms of the Flexner era. The work will be of interest to medical school administrators, policy makers, and faculty members as well as to practicing physicians.

Anecdotes and real case studies ripped from the headlines about what doctors did which got them into trouble either with Medicare, HIPAA, The Office of Inspector General (OIG) or worse the FBI. The case studies are true stories of medical professionals: Some are about providers just like you trying to navigate the complex maze of the medical billing process. This guide will help you recognize the red flags and triggers so you can avoid a Medicare Audit. Learn about common problems that plague medical practices. Discover what your peers have done right and what they have done wrong. Avoid the costly billing mistakes and practice mismanagement showcased in Medical Billing Horror Stories. With the changes, challenges and uncertainties facing the Healthcare industry you can't afford to miss this information. If you submit even one claim for reimbursement this is a must read

This thesis presents a comprehensive analysis of the global health impacts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in ambient air, conducted on the basis of a high-resolution emission inventory, global chemical transport modeling, and probabilistic risk assessment. One of the main strengths of the thesis is the concentration downscaling process, which provides a linkage between emissions and exposure concentrations at a comparatively high resolution. Moreover, by focusing on individual susceptibility, the thesis proposes an instrumental revision of current risk assessment methodology and argues that, if individual susceptibility were not taken into consideration, the overall risk would be underestimated by 55% and the proportion of highly vulnerable populations would be underestimated by more than 90%.

In concept and practice, public health casts a wide net, spanning assessment, intervention, and policy; education, prevention, and protection; public, private, and government entities. But key elements are often missing from the picture, including a clear understanding of public health and its goals by the general public, and specific public health education throughout the workforce.

"Public Health Practice" responds to these and related challenges by elegantly summarizing the state of the field in an era of dwindling budgets, competing and overlapping services, and a shaky professional infrastructure. In keeping with public health goals set out by the CDC and other leading agencies, the author makes a real-world case for standardizing training, establishing best practices in the field, and coordinating public health systems with their healthcare counterparts. Theory, case examples, tools, and callout boxes highlight knowledge, preparation, and skills professionals need in addressing chronic issues and complex emergencies. Throughout, the emphasis is on greater competency and visibility for the profession, resulting in a more informed, healthier public. Featured in the coverage:

Issues in defining the public health workforce.The state of public health education.Practicing and teaching public health: local, national, and international cases.Standardizing public health practice: benefits and challenges.Integrating public health and healthcare.The future of public health as seen from academia and the frontlines.

Identifying urgent issues and providing cogent answers, "Public Health Practice" is a call to action for those involved in creating the next level of public health, including professors, practitioners, students, and administrators.

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This book examines the new knowledge that has been gained from the objective monitoring of habitual physical activity by means of pedometers and accelerometers. It reviews current advances in the technology of activity monitoring and details advantages of objective monitors relative to physical activity questionnaires. It points to continuing gaps in knowledge, and explores the potential for further advances in the design of objective monitoring devices. Epidemiologists have studied relationships between questionnaire assessments of habitual physical activity and various medical conditions for some seventy years. In general, they have observed positive associations between regular exercise and good health, but because of inherent limitations in the reliability and accuracy of physical activity questionnaires, optimal exercise recommendations for the prevention and treatment of disease have remained unclear. Inexpensive pedometers and accelerometers now offer the epidemiologist the potential to collect relatively precisely graded and objective information on the volume, intensity and patterns of effort that people are undertaking, to relate this data to past and future health experience, and to establish dose/response relationships between physical activity and the various components of health. Such information is important both in assessing the causal nature of the observed associations and in establishing evidence-based recommendations concerning the minimal levels of daily physical activity needed to maintain good health.

This book presents a review of Deleuze s key methods and concepts in the course of exploring how these methods may be applied in contemporary studies of health and illness. Taken from a Deleuzian perspective, health and wellbeing will be characterized as a discontinuous process of affective and relational transitions.

The book argues that health, conceived in terms of the quality of life, is advanced or facilitated in the provision of new affective sensitivities and new relational capacities. Following an assessment of Deleuze s key ideas, the book will offer a series of case studies designed to illustrate how Deleuze s ideas can be applied to select health problems. This analysis draws out the specific advantages of a Deleuzian approach to public health research, establishing grounds for more widespread engagement with Deleuze s ideas across the health and social sciences."

Drawing on in-depth case studies across England, this book argues that governance and population health are inextricably linked. Using original research, it shows how these links can be illustrated at a local level through commissioning practice related to health and wellbeing. Exploring the impact of governance on decision- making, Governance, commissioning and public health analyses how principles, such as social justice, and governance arrangements, including standards and targets, influence local strategies and priorities for public health investment. In developing 'public health governance' as a critical concept, the study demonstrates the complexity of the governance landscape for public health and the leadership qualities required to negotiate it. This book is essential reading for students, academics, practitioners and policy-makers with an interest in governance and decision-making for public health.

The main objective of this work is to provide a book with high quality content that becomes a reference and support for graduate course (Mental Health, Public Health and Epidemiology) and for research in the domain of health economics applied to mental health. Also this book might be useful for policymakers on formulating mental health policies. Key messages of this book are based on: a) mental illness represent a huge cost for society and for health care; b) health economics applied to mental health could help in the optimization of resource allocation for mental health care and for better decision making in terms of balancing costs and benefits; c) interventions and treatment should be also chosen in general medical practice and in public decision-policy according to cost-effectiveness, burden of disease and equity principles; d) quality of care is related with better outcomes, higher quality of life for clients, and with lower costs for society and health system (best value for money); e) it is possible to decrease the burden of mental disorders with cost-effective treatments. The book is divided in four main topics: 1. Introduction to Health Economics applied to Mental Health - this section is an overview of basic principles, concepts and methods used in Economics and Health Economics to enable students to make critical appraisal of Health Economics texts and also to design research studies in this topic. 2. Health Economics applied to the evaluation of quality and costs of Mental Health Services - this section presents results of Brazilian studies on the costs of mental health care (hospital, outpatient care, residential care, informal care), methods on the measurement of costs and it discusses issues related with public policies decisions and quality of mental health car in the low and middle income countries context. There is also an overview of quality indicators of mental health care and instruments to evaluate mental health services and costs.3. Health Economics applied to evaluate treatment of mental disorders - This section presents a review of cost-effectiveness of pharmacological treatments and other interventions applied for treating the most burdensome mental disorders such as depressive and anxiety disorders, bipolar disorders, psychosis, alcohol and drug disorders, dementia, and hyper attention deficit disorders. 4. Health Economics, burden and indirect costs of mental disorders - This section highlights the social and economic burden caused by mental illness under societal perspective focusing on stigma, unemployment, indirect costs in the workplace (absenteeism and presenteeism), the relationship between poverty and mental disorders, global health and social determinants of mental health and on the costs of mental disorders (depression, anxiety, psychosis, alcohol and drug disorders). We present some instruments to measure indirect costs of mental disorders.

In this extraordinary history, James Driscoll reveals the untold story of how AIDS activists, by thwarting bureaucratic plans imposed by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA), both saved HIV patients and rescued the FDA itself from a self-inflicted public health catastrophe. By 1996, accelerated approval of AIDS drug cocktails transformed AIDS from a death sentence to a manageable disease. That approval, however, came only after years of struggle pitting AIDS activists against the hidebound culture of the Food and Drug Administration, which wanted to run lengthy efficacy trials required for full approval and possibly delay the drugs at a cost of tens of thousands of lives. Driscoll's courageous efforts, which are an important personal part of the story, navigated conflicts among AIDS activist groups as they struggled with both major American political parties to be heard and respected. He examines the effect of AIDS activism on the LGBT community, its views of itself, and its place in modern American society. Additional materials analyze FDA mistakes, drug pricing, and other contemporary challenges for the LGBTs community.

Patients as Policy Actors offers groundbreaking accounts of one of the health field's most important developments of the last fifty years--the rise of more consciously patient-centered care and policymaking. The authors in this volume illustrate, from multiple disciplinary perspectives, the unexpected ways that patients can matter as both agents and objects of health care policy yet nonetheless too often remain silent, silenced, misrepresented, or ignored. The volume concludes with a unique epilogue outlining principles for more effectively integrating patient perspectives into a pluralistic conception of policy-making. With the recent enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, patients' and consumers' roles in American health care require more than ever the careful analysis and attention exemplified by this innovative volume.

Global Handbook on Noncommunicable Diseases and Health Promotion David V. McQueen, editor A scan of health challenges around the globe readily brings to mind a range of infectious illnesses, from HIV to influenza. Yet chronic non-contagious conditions--heart disease, asthma, diabetes, cancer--are more prevalent, and their rates soaring, across the developed and developing worlds. The Global Handbook on Noncommunicable Diseases and Health Promotion is an important resource for understanding and approaching chronic illnesses and their prevention. This timely text balances theory and strategies to provide an integrative context for health-affecting behaviors regarding tobacco use, food choices, and physical activity. Coverage expands on current medical/clinical public health perspectives, arguing that closer attention to social context is crucial to better use of health resources and more relevant preventive efforts. Possible roles for hospitals, the workplace, government agencies, NGOs, and other institutions are analyzed, as is the potential for addressing larger underlying health factors (e.g., inequities and poverty) at the societal level. Topics covered include: The nature of causality: beyond traditional evidence Learning from the social sciences in chronic disease health promotion Contextual factors in health and illness Understanding and applying a social determinants of health framework for addressing NCDs Public health, NCDs, health promotion and business partnering NCDs and civil society: a history and a roadmap As the authors of the Global Handbook on Noncommunicable Diseases and Health Promotion make abundantly clear, opportunities are as numerous as the issues, and researchers and graduate students in global public health, health promotion, and chronic disease epidemiology will find these chapters positive and realistic.p>

This book provides a critical understanding of contemporary issues within global society and how these relate to six case study examples (UK, USA, China, India, South Africa, Bangladesh, and Japan). The authors draw on their diverse experience to explore four major themes of contemporary relevance: overall aging of societies; governance and institutions; emergency services and public health provisions; and community activism and involvement. The key issues within the book--sociability, social capital, and community development--are examined in the context of an ever increasing aging world. The authors' sense of optimism is linked to growing evidence that community activism is on the rise and can effectively plug the gap between public need and provision of service.