Geographical Information Systems (GIS) have developed rapidly in recent years and now provide powerful tools for the capture, manipulation, integration, interrogation, modelling, analysis and visualisation of data - tools that are already used for policy support in a wide range of areas at almost all geographic and administrative levels. This holds especially for emergency preparedness and health risk reduction, which are all essentially spatial problems. To date, however, many initiatives have remained disconnected and uncoordinated, leading to less powerful, less compatible and less widely implemented systems than might otherwise have been the case.
The important matters discussed here include the probabilistic nature of most environmental hazards and the semi-random factors that influence interactions between these and human exposures; the effects of temporal and spatial scales on hazard assessment and imputed risk; the effects of measurement error in risk estimation and the stratification of risks and their impacts according to socioeconomic characteristics; and the quantification of socioeconomic differences in vulnerability and susceptibility to environmental hazards.
GIS are powerful analytical tools in their own right, but what is needed is much more effective communication between the many disciplines, professions and stakeholders concerned - something which this book helps to achieve.

The book that’s been helping people with diabetes live their best lives for 20 years Diabetes For Dummies is a trusted resource that guides those diagnosed with diabetes and pre-diabetes and their caregivers towards optimal health. This book helps you, or those you love, achieve the life you want while managing diabetes with lifestyle changes, alternative therapies and the latest medications. This fully updated edition helps you tackle your symptoms with the confidence that you’re doing the latest stuff and following the newest advances in diabetes treatment. Powerful lifestyle strategies, new medications, monitoring equipment, nutritional guidelines, delicious recipes, and insulin delivery methods—it’s all in this friendly Dummies guide. Understand the types of diabetes and learn about your diagnosis Learn the latest treatment options, medications, and evidence-based therapies Manage your symptoms and live a full life with expert diet and lifestyle tips Answer your questions with this trusted, compassionate guide, now in its 6th edition Take control and understand how to improve or even prevent and reverse prediabetes and diabetes This book is an indispensable resource for those newly diagnosed with diabetes, and prediabetes, their loved ones, and care givers, as well as health care professionals who need an up-to-date reference on the latest in diabetes research.

This book is a collection of mortality abstracts based on recent follow-up studies on the results of health disorders from the abstracts and articles appearing recently in the Journal of Insurance Medicine. The widely different types of investigators who may have repeated need of outcome data (death or morbid event) in a particular disease or risk factor will find this collection invaluable. Such a collection is valuable not only to users in the insurance industry, but to all physicians and health scientists who are interested in prognosis of chronic diseases, in clinical trials, in cost/benefit questions, in clinical decision-making, and similar fields of inquiry.

With a particular emphasis on tumor dormancy in breast, lung, prostate, and liver cancers, as well as in melanoma, this first volume of a new Springer series focuses on the interrelationship between biological processes of aging and tumors -- both dormant and quiescent. With detail supplied by numerous international researchers at the forefront of cancer research, the book examines a host of differing aspects of the topic. Featured contributions analyze the role of the quiescent state in regulating hematopoietic and muscle stem cells. They also explore the mediation, by the kinase, in the reversible quiescent state of a subset of ovarian, pancreatic, and colon cancers. The book includes key research on the molecular mechanisms underlying stress-induced cellular senescence, in addition to those governing the accumulation of reactive oxygen species, and the induction of premature senescence. It also provides information on suppressing cellular senescence in the most common, and most aggressive malignant primary brain tumor in humans, glioblastoma multiforme. With comprehensive and cutting-edge information on therapeutic interventions and on the correct diagnosis of relevant neoplasms, and with numerous color illustrations, this is the most up-to-date assessment of current medical knowledge in this crucial area of medical research.

Mass immunization is the blitzkrieg of vaccination practice. It serves to rapidly protect populations, both because of the high coverage achieved and because of the herd immunity thereby induced. However, as in war, mass immunization campaigns must be conducted intelligently, with careful strategy and strong attention to logistics of supply and deployment. If conducted badly, mass immunization may fail or even be counter-productive. In this volume, some of the most successful practitioners of mass im- nization tell us about its art and science. David Heymann and Bruce Aylward of WHO begin the book with a theoretical and practical overview of mass immunization. Michael Lane, who participated in the successful effort to eradicate smallpox relates how this was done using mass vaccination and other strategies. Application of mass immunization by the US military is c- ered by John Grabenstein and Remington Nevin, who have a large experience in these matters. Karen Noakes and David Salisbury recount the striking s- cesses of mass immunization in the United Kingdom. The global control of the clostridia that produce diphtheria toxin is described by Charles Vitek. Hepa- tis A is decreasing dramatically under the impact of large-scale vaccination, as Francis Andre illustrates. The French experience with Hepatitis B vac- nation has been mixed, and Francois Denis and Daniel Levy-Bruhl explain the circumstances. In?uenza vaccination is an annual example of large-scale campaigns, the complexity of which is recounted by Benjamin Schwartz and Pascale Wortley.

There has been a significant increase in the prevalence of certain chronic disorders among children and adolescents. For example, health experts warn of an epidemic of diabetes mellitus due to an increase in the sedentary life style and poor nutrition of children. There are many questions still to be addressed in the study of chronic disorders among children and adolescents.What are the risk factors associated with chronic diseases in these populations?What are the major complications that contribute to disability and increased health care utilization and costs? What impact do chronic diseases have on the psychosocial development? What are the most effective diagnostic, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies? How can patient education and self-management activities be improved to help children and adolescents improve compliance with treatment regimens? How can parents and other family members become more involved in assessment and management? In what ways can peers, schools, religious institutions, and other organizations help children and adolescent scope with their chronic disease? This book addresses these questions by focusing on how eight chronic disorders affect health care utilization, costs, coping, and health outcomes in children and adolescents.Research studies are used to illustrate wide range of topics from the epidemiology of chronic diseases in children and adolescents, health care utilization and costs, to treatment outcomes, disability, and family processes.Case studies from a clinical psychologist's private practice are used to clarify major psychosocial issues underlying chronic diseases in these populations. Chapter One analyzes the epidemiology of eight chronic conditions in children and adolescents. Data on the prevalence of diseases and associated risk factors are stressed in this chapter. Health care planners can use these analyses to improve primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention through more effective uses of health care resources. Chapter Two examines the latest information on health care utilization and costs for children and adolescents that can point to a more efficient means of reducing the rising health care costs associated with the treatment of chronic diseases.

In the remaining chapters, the eight chronic diseases are evaluated in terms of five major issues. First, the latest trends in complications associated with each chronic condition are explored.Second, the impact of each disease on disability and psychosocial development of children and adolescents are analyzed. Third, recent research findings on diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies are discussed. Fourth, new trends in patient education and self-management are presented. Fifth, each chapter will assess the role of family, peers, schools, and other organizations in helping children and adolescents cope with their chronic disorders. Dr. Mark L. Goldstein, a clinical psychologist, reviews the literature and uses composite case studies from his practice to illustrate the impact of these trends on how children and adolescents manage chronic disease.The information in this book will be relevant to a wide range of professionals and students in the fields of pediatrics, medicine, nursing, public health, mental health, social work, education, health administration, health policy, and social sciences."

This wide-ranging volume reviews the experience and treatment of HIV/AIDS in rural America at the clinical, care system, community, and individual levels. Rural HIV-related phenomena are explored within healthcare contexts (physician shortages, treatment disparities) and the social environment (stigma, the opioid epidemic), and contrasted with urban frames of reference. Contributors present latest findings on HIV medications, best practices, and innovative opportunities for improving care and care settings, plus invaluable first-person perspective on the intersectionality of patient subpopulations. These chapters offer both seasoned and training practitioners a thorough grounding in the unique challenges of providing appropriate and effective services in the region. Featured topics include: Case study: Georgia's rural vs. non-rural populations HIV medications: how they work and why they fail Pediatric/adolescent HIV: legal and ethical issues Our experience: HIV-positive African-American women in the Deep South Learning to age successfully with HIV Bringing important detail to an often-marginalized population, HIV/AIDS in Rural Communities will interest and inspire healthcare practitioners including physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, case managers, psychologists, social workers, counselors, and family therapists, as well as educators, students, persons living with HIV, advocates, community leaders, and policymakers.

The promise and prospects for mobile technologies in healthcare service delivery-particularly as experienced by patients and other users-are the focus of this forward-looking volume. Its detailed sociotechnical perspective takes in factors influencing patient and provider adoption of technological advances, in addition to the well-known cost and accessibility advantages. Enlightening reports show mobile health technologies in multiple contexts as an impetus for behavioral change, a means of monitoring health changes, a growing trend in service delivery, and an emerging health frontier worldwide. Together, these chapters point to the continued expansion-and global reach-of mobile technology in the next stage of healthcare services. Included in the coverage: Behavior change techniques used in mobile applications targeting physical activity: a systematic review Mobile health integration in pregnancy Unintended users, uses, and consequences of mobile weight loss apps: using eating disorders as a case study Intention vs. perception: understanding the differences in physicians' attitudes towards mobile health applications HealthGuide: a personalized mobile patient guidance system Adoption of sensors in mobile health Current and Emerging mHealth Technologies is salient reading for researchers interested in mobile health development and implementation as well as technology adoption, and mobile health system developers and managers who are interested in the implications of mobile health use by patients and/or healthcare professionals. It can also be used for courses in technology adoption and health technologies.

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally and presents a major challenge to policy makers and clinicians alike. Recent research has suggested that obesity has its origins in early life and that early diet can programme a developing fetus and young infant s future susceptibility to obesity. This volume contains recent findings presented at the International Conference on Early Nutrition Programming and Health Outcomes in Later Life: Obesity and Beyond - a satellite meeting of the 15th European Congress on Obesity, held in Budapest in April 2007. Basic scientific research, data from epidemiological studies and clinical trial results were all presented during the programme.

This volume includes articles discussing the evidence for an effect of early nutrition programming on later obesity and cardiovascular risk; the growing evidence for an intergenerational cycle of obesity; the role of maternal leptin in programming appetite; possible cellular mechanisms for altered energy balance, including mitochondrial programming and the effects of regulators of metabolism; and how epigenetic changes might be the fundamental underlying mechanism explaining programming effects. Consumer understanding of the concept of early nutrition programming and the extent to which early nutrition programming is taken into account in infant feeding policies are also discussed.

This is the first book to deal exclusively with the influence and meaning of what media historian Paul Heyer calls our century's first collective nightmare. Using contemporary as well as archival sources, he explores a series of intriguing questions: Why has the TITANIC disaster affected the way we think about ourselves and our technology? How has the media made it into a morality play of mythic dimensions? What impact has that story had on the development of 20th-century communications? This timely and compelling book pays homage to the TITANIC's fateful voyage by attempting to explain not why she struck an iceberg on a cold April night in 1912, but what is surely her greatest enigma: the hold the event still has over us.

Heyer assesses the impact of the TITANIC disaster on the 20th century by exploring the relationship between the event and a variety of media from 1912 to the present. The role of the media in the disaster begins with the TITANIC's distress call. Only a partial success, it resulted in a concerted plea for more wireless regulation. Subsequent newspaper coverage called the sinking the story of the century. The mad scramble for information led to the use of every possible journalistic technique, ethical or otherwise. In his analysis, Heyer puts particular emphasis on the New York Times, which became the paper of record and achieved international prominence for its accurate and sometimes controversial reporting. As soon as press coverage subsided, the TITANIC tragedy resurfaced in literature and film. It has gone on to become one of the most enduring myths in 20th century popular culture. Heyer examines this phenomenon, and shows us how and why, following the discovery of the wreck (1985) and the Challenger disaster (1986), our obsession with the TITANIC has been greater than at any other time since 1912. This is a unique and provocative book that will appeal to readers interested in popular history, media studies, and American studies.

Public health has, for many years, been concerned with efforts to increase the efficiency of health care delivery, to measure changes in health care resource utilization and associated costs, and to link these changes to different types of interventions. These efforts, as well as collaboration between biopharmaceutical organizations, producers of medical devices, and managed care and public health organizations, have been enhanced by the opportunities created within the fast growing field of outcomes research. This volume presents studies contributing to the enhancement of the outcomes research paradigm by incorporating economic and social interactions within the health care delivery, clinical decision-making and outcomes systems. A multidisciplinary team of scientists in the fields of outcomes research, pharmacoeconomics, public health, health services research, and health economics address such complex problems as: benefits and cost of advancements in genetic technologies; methodologies for constructing health care utilization and cost estimates; and the effect of insurance type on resource utilization and health outcomes. Other studies consider both the types of drugs purchased and the prices paid, pharmaceutical spending and health outcomes, incremental advantages of newer treatments, willingness to pay measurements, disease-specific impacts on human capital and quality of life, and modelling clinical trial results. One of the most important findings in this book is the description of the role of low energy in the symptomatology of depression and its strong relationship with absenteeism, work productivity and social functioning. Another paper documents the disease-specific mortality, case-fatality and annual health care utilization in diabetics and establishes the association of respiratory conditions with elevated mortality among diabetics. The work contains other papers which provide significant results in cardiovascular, infectious, central nervous system disease areas as well as in quality of life and health outcomes measurements.

Polluted air and contaminated food and water are major causes of human health deterioration, but public health policy has long struggled to effectively address these concerns. This timely book--written for a wide audience of policy makers, researchers, and general readers--synthesizes what we already know about environmental hazards, identifies the gaps in our knowledge, and provides a roadmap for reducing human exposure to environmental pollution. With contributions from leading experts, Environmental Determinants of Human Health examines numerous pollutants, both inorganic and organic, in the context of their human health impacts. Individual chapters explore exposure pathways, macroeconomic impacts of human health deterioration, technological and non-technological methods for reducing exposures, monetary and non-monetary benefits from exposure reduction, and risk communication and awareness, including citizen participation approaches. This volume is a crucial text for policy makers requiring scientific justification for the development of new environmental regulations, scientists researching public health and environmental contamination, and members of the public interested in human health issues.

As a result of arms control efforts over the past 50 years, nuclear material is subject to strict national controls and tough international treaties. But there are still almost no controls, other than a voluntary International Atomic Energy Agency code of conduct, on the sorts of radiological sources used to make radiological dirty bombs. Radiological sources are used all over the world for a wide range of peaceful purposes, including smoke detectors, medical devices, meteorology, mining and thermoelectric generators. There are at least eight million identified radiological sources worldwide. Their small size, portability and high value make them vulnerable to misuse and theft: the IAEA reported 272 cases of illicit trafficking in sealed radioactive sources between 1993 and 2002.

The IAEA estimates that 110 countries worldwide still fail to impose adequate controls. The time is ripe for an international convention and treaty on the safety and security of radiological sources.

This book covers expert discussions designed to enhance cooperation and assistance between NATO and Partner countries in support of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) efforts to secure radioactive sources against the threat of terrorism and also to support the security agenda at the International Radiation Protection Association Congress in Buenos Aires in 2008.

This text provides a foundation for the initiation of advocacy efforts and for the evaluation of their success and includes topics such as: specific strategies, grassroots advocacy efforts, formation and development of coalitions, advocacy efforts in legislatures, administrative agencies, court, and the media. It is of interest to public and urban health workers, social workers, community organizers, and legislators.

Different levels in health sciences, in particular public health, have acknowledged the significant role of epidemiology methods for early detection of emerging infections, alert systems, and preparedness interventions. Therefore, it is important to understand how epidemiological research is conducted and how it can be used at various levels to make exposure or incidence data on a general population available. In this, epidemiological research connected to both human and technology interactions is of primary importance. Epidemiological Research Applications for Public Health Measurement and Intervention provides relevant theoretical frameworks and the latest empirical research findings in the field of epidemiology. The chapters within this essential reference source enhance the knowledge of epidemiological research and measurement to investigate, detect, and monitor emerging pathological infections. While highlighting topics that include the history of epidemiology; the applications of epidemiology; and also the uses, principles, and roles of epidemiology, this book is ideally intended for professionals and researchers working in the field of health sciences in various disciplines and government officials, policymakers, practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students who are interested in epidemiological research and measurement for increasing the effectiveness of public health practice.

This book advances new understandings of how technologies have been harnessed to improve the health of populations; whether the technologies really empower those who use information by providing them with a choice of information; how they shape health policy discourses; how the health information relates to traditional belief systems and local philosophies; the implications for health communicators; how certain forms of silence are produced when media articulates and problematizes only a few health issues and sidelines others; and much more. The book brings together current research and discussions on the three areas of policy, practices and theoretical perspectives related to health communication approaches in developing countries, presenting well-researched and documented essays that will prove helpful for academic and scholarly inquiry in this area.

A growing body of research identifies strong links between children's health, social and educational outcomes; it also notes the reciprocal benefits of access to quality education on individual and family health status. In response to these findings, the World Health Organization developed the concept of the Health-Promoting School (HPS), a living catalyst for healthy lives, and for positive changes that students can take home and into the community. Case Studies in Global School Health Promotion provides readers with a theoretical and research base needed to understand the methods used in communities all over the world to put this captivating concept in place.

Case examples from over two dozen countries (representing urban and rural areas in developing and developed nations) outline the strategies taken to implement HPS programs in individual schools, municipalities, and nations. For each program, case study authors explain the problems they tackled, their motivation and supports to respond creatively; and the barriers they faced. In the cases, authors describe the capacities and infrastructure they created and mechanisms for cooperation; as well as the personnel, financial, and time requirements involved. Case studies were drawn from the following regions:

Case Studies in Global School Health Promotion offers a world of insights, ideas, and guidance to those addressing social determinants of health at this formative stage, including: education and health policy makers; professionals and administrators; and researchers in national governments, universities, local schools, community, non-governmental organizations and civil society. The material provides interesting and useful information to those dedicated to these issues within WHO, FRESH Partners and other United Nations agencies. It is also an instructive text for graduate students in public health, education, allied health professions and social sciences.

War related separations challenge military families in many ways. The worry and uncertainty associated with absent family members exacerbates the challenges of personal, social, and economic resources on the home front. U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have sent a million service personnel from the U.S. alone into conflict areas leaving millions of spouses, children and others in stressful circumstances. This is not a new situation for military families, but it has taken a toll of magnified proportions in recent times. In addition, medical advances have prolonged the life of those who might have died of injuries. As a result, more families are caring for those who have experienced amputation, traumatic brain injury, and profound psychological wounds. The Department of Defence has launched unprecedented efforts to support service members and families before, during, and after deployment in all locations of the country as well as in remote locations. Stress in U.S. Military Families brings together an interdisciplinary group of experts from the military to the medical to examine the issues of this critical problem. Its goal is to review the factors that contribute to stress in military families and to point toward strategies and policies that can help. Covering the major topics of parenting, marital functioning, and the stress of medical care, and including a special chapter on single service members, it serves as a comprehensive guide for those who will intervene in these problems and for those undertaking their research.

This book examines the effect of whole-wheat bread on health, with evidence linking the consumption of whole-wheat products to a decrease in the relative risk of non-communicable diseases in comparison with products baked from refined flour. The authors focus on key areas such as milling and refining procedures, bakery products, and assessment of the present consumption of wheat products. They offer a detailed description of all available ingredients of wheat-kernel, with particular attention paid to the health benefits of wheat-kernel antioxidants and dietary fiber ingredients. Vitamins, glutathione, choline and betaine, carotenoids, sterols and stanols are covered, and the book concludes with a general overview of the effect of whole-wheat bread on colon activity and immune capacity. Methods of improving bread nutritional quality, and the potential for the upgrading of the nutritional qualities of whole-bread, are also discussed. Consumption of whole-wheat in Western societies, however, has either not increased or increased very slightly. The authors intend for this book to highlight the health benefits of whole-wheat bread and the factors that contribute to these benefits.

Applying multimodal textual analysis to the languages and images of online communication forms, Kay Richardson shows, from an applied linguistic perspective, how the Internet is being used for global, interactive communication about public health risks. Detailed case studies of the possible risks posed by SARS, by mobile phones and by the vaccination of babies against childhood diseases are situated within the context of research on computer-mediated communication, as well as within the broader social context of globalization and discourses of risk and trust.