Author Lynn Barnes admits she's known all along that she'd been a little different in ways she can't explain. In her memoir, The Last Exit before the Toll, she examines her life and tries to make sense of who and what she is and how her being affects her existence.

She reflects on growing up as an only child and her life now as a single, surrealist artist and Poe aficionado. Barnes recalls the events that have greatly impacted her, including the deaths of her mother and father and the suicide of her best friend, Marc. But it was the discovery that she has undiagnosed Asperger's syndrome that helped piece together the puzzle that has been her life and allowed her to come to terms with the troubling personality traits she has experienced all her life.

An insightful and creative look at Barnes's life, The Last Exit before the Toll provides a glimpse into the sometimes frustrating and unknown world of someone who lives with Asperger's syndrome.

In terms of healthcare, in both the People's Republic of China and the United States there have been dramatic changes within the past 60 years. The PRC has evolved to be a superpower and a major player in the international healthcare development arena whereas the USA has struggled to maintain its image as a major builder of soft diplomacy. When it comes to delivering healthcare, Africa is a continent with many developing countries with individualized needs that calls for individualized healthcare plans, and both the PRC and USA have struggled with this relationship. The PRC on one hand has had social conflict with the average African, which has been detrimental to relations, the USA on the other hand, has reduced international development funds and has been in a healthcare crisis of its own. Due to these changes, Africa has essentially become the last battleground for soft power with healthcare being the measuring tool. Transitioning Healthcare Support in Developing Countries From the US to China: Emerging Research and Opportunities explores the history of healthcare in Africa from the 1960s to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic in 2020. This book examines the relationship between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the United States of America (USA) in providing healthcare services to Africa and documents the struggles and areas of both success and failure in doing so. The chapters cover issues such as racism in PRC residing in Africa and the USA's struggle with coronavirus. This book is ideal for government officials, medical personnel, policymakers, international agencies, practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students interested in the relations and healthcare delivery between both the USA and PRC to Africa.

The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the world's vulnerabilities to health and economic ruin from disease outbreaks. But the pandemic merely reveals fundamental weaknesses and contradictions in global health. What are the roots of discontents in global health? How do geo-politics, power dynamics, knowledge gaps, racism, and corruption affect global health? Is foreign aid for health due for a radical overhaul?This book is an incisive guide to the practice of global health in real life. Global health policy is at a crossroads. It is on trial at the interface between the Global North and the Global South. There has been remarkable progress in health outcomes over the past century. Yet, countries face a complex landscape of lofty ambitions in the form of political commitments to Universal Health Coverage, Human Capital, and Global Health Security. These ambitions are tempered by multiple constraints. Investors in global health must navigate a minefield of uneven progress, great expectations, and denials of scientific evidence by entrenched interests. That terrain is further complicated by the hegemonic suppression of innovation that threatens the status quo and by self-perpetuating cycles of dependency of the Global South on the Global North.This book is an unflinching scrutiny of concepts and cases by a veteran of global health policy and practice. It holds a mirror to the world and lays out pathways to a better future. The book is a must-have GPS for policy makers and practitioners as they navigate the maze of global health.

In Unmanageable Care, anthropologist Jessica M. Mulligan goes to work at an HMO and records what it's really like to manage care. Set at a health insurance company dubbed Acme, this book chronicles how the privatization of the health care system in Puerto Rico transformed the experience of accessing and providing care on the island. Through interviews and participant observation, the book explores the everyday contexts in which market reforms were enacted. It follows privatization into the compliance department of a managed care organization, through the visits of federal auditors to a health plan, and into the homes of health plan members who recount their experiences navigating the new managed care system. In the 1990s and early 2000s, policymakers in Puerto Rico sold off most of the island's public health facilities and enrolled the poor, elderly and disabled into for-profit managed care plans. These reforms were supposed to promote efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and high quality care. Despite the optimistic promises of market-based reforms, the system became more expensive, not more efficient; patients rarely behaved as the expected health-maximizing information processing consumers; and care became more chaotic and difficult to access. Citizens continued to look to the state to provide health services for the poor, disabled, and elderly. This book argues that pro-market reforms failed to deliver on many of their promises.The health care system in Puerto Rico was dramatically transformed, just not according to plan.

Today, men and women all over the world are experiencing higher stress levels as a result of poor or reduced sleep. According to author Claes Zell, the answer to this problem could be as simple and enjoyable as stretching and targeted exercise.

After years of self- experience practicing, Zell discovered that many who suffer from insufficient deep sleep complain of the same issues-restlessness, stiff limbs, and difficulty reaching the pre-sleep alpha rhythm. With this information, Zell has developed an effective ten-minute program (minimum) design to target and lengthen specific muscle groups, relaxing your body in order to allow you to relax your mind.

The market for chemical remedies for sleeping disorders has become vast, and yet the problem of inadequate sleep remains. Rather than subject your body to chemical interventions that may or may not work, interventions that could cause any number of new and unpleasant problems, why not give yourself ten minutes at the end of the day? With just ten minutes, you can bring your body and mind into alignment and finally get the deep, quality sleep you've been missing.

The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the world's vulnerabilities to health and economic ruin from disease outbreaks. But the pandemic merely reveals fundamental weaknesses and contradictions in global health. What are the roots of discontents in global health? How do geo-politics, power dynamics, knowledge gaps, racism, and corruption affect global health? Is foreign aid for health due for a radical overhaul?This book is an incisive guide to the practice of global health in real life. Global health policy is at a crossroads. It is on trial at the interface between the Global North and the Global South. There has been remarkable progress in health outcomes over the past century. Yet, countries face a complex landscape of lofty ambitions in the form of political commitments to Universal Health Coverage, Human Capital, and Global Health Security. These ambitions are tempered by multiple constraints. Investors in global health must navigate a minefield of uneven progress, great expectations, and denials of scientific evidence by entrenched interests. That terrain is further complicated by the hegemonic suppression of innovation that threatens the status quo and by self-perpetuating cycles of dependency of the Global South on the Global North.This book is an unflinching scrutiny of concepts and cases by a veteran of global health policy and practice. It holds a mirror to the world and lays out pathways to a better future. The book is a must-have GPS for policy makers and practitioners as they navigate the maze of global health.

Technological innovations and applications in the healthcare industry have led to recent advancements in clinical practices and research. Healthcare Information Technology Innovation and Sustainability: Frontiers and Adoption presents research in the emerging field on information systems and informatics in the healthcare industry. By addressing innovative concepts and critical issues through case studies and experimental research, this reference source is useful for practitioners, researchers and academics aiming to advance the knowledge and practice of these interdisciplinary fields of healthcare information.

Japan has achieved the world's highest life-expectancy under a universal health coverage system. The purpose of this book is to discuss effective management accounting methods for solving various issues now faced by the healthcare system in Japan (low birth-rate and aging society, issues in medical public finance, issues attendant to advancements of healthcare services, etc.). This book is written by Japanese researchers who are active and at the forefront of management accounting research for healthcare, such as Takami Matsuo, Kazunori Ito, Yutaka Kato, and so on. This book shows the actual use of cost information, cost-management, and management-control methods for healthcare organizations in Japan, and examines how to adopt management accounting methods used by companies in healthcare management, which would be a useful reference for future healthcare management in countries that might face similar issues as Japan in the future.

Medical practices have incorporated electronic communications and information technology into innovative concepts and services in order to ensure a higher quality healthcare system. Digital Advancements in Medicine, E-Health, and Communication Technologies explores the developments and trends in medical informatics and its approaches toward telemedicine and e-health applications. This comprehensive collection of research brings together academia and industry by highlighting recent advances in electronic health, medical communications and applications for e-health and medicine.

Telebehavioral Health: Foundations in Theory and Practice for Graduate Learners provides readers with a comprehensive overview of telebehavioral health, including definitions and concepts, the benefits and barriers associated with practice, and an interprofessional framework for telebehavioral health competencies. The competencies outlined help readers develop an engaged, ethical, and effective telebehavioral health practice. The book discusses and provides examples of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes involved in the seven telebehavioral health competency domains. The chapters include differentiated content for novice, proficient, and authority practitioners throughout, allowing readers to adjust their exposure, in terms of depth and breadth, to each topical area. The text provides an overview of the characteristics and practices unique to telebehavioral health treatment, guidance for competent evaluation and care, review of legal and regulatory issues related to the use of technology, valuable insight for telepractice development, and more. Designed to help practitioners thoughtfully consider the use of technology to support optimal therapeutic experiences for their patients, Telebehavioral Health is an ideal text for students within the discipline. It can also serve as a beneficial reference for novice and seasoned practitioners.

This open access book introduces the National Health Insurance (NHI) system of Taiwan with a particular emphasis on its application of digital technology to improve healthcare access and quality. The authors explicate how Taiwan integrates its strong Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry with 5G to construct an information system that facilitates medical information exchange, collects data for planning and research, refines medical claims review procedures and even assists in fighting COVID-19. Taiwan's NHI, launched in 1995, is a single-payer system funded primarily through payroll-based premiums. It covers all citizens and foreign residents with the same comprehensive benefits without the long waiting times seen in other single-payer systems. Though premium rate adjustment and various reforms were carried out in 2010, the NHI finds itself at a crossroads over its financial stability. With the advancement of technologies and an aging population, it faces challenges of expanding coverage to newly developed treatments and diagnosis methods and applying the latest innovations to deliver telemedicine and more patient-centered services. The NHI, like the national health systems of other countries, also needs to address the privacy concerns of the personal health data it collects and the issues regarding opening this data for research or commercial use. In this book, the 12 chapters cover the history, characteristics, current status, innovations and future reform plans of the NHI in the digital era. Topics explored include: Income Strategy Payment Structure Pursuing Health Equity Infrastructure of the Medical Information System Innovative Applications of the Medical Information Applications of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence Digital Health Care in Taiwan is essential reading for academic researchers and students in healthcare administration, health policy, health systems research, and health services delivery, as well as policymakers and public officials in relevant government departments. It also would appeal to academics, practitioners, and other professionals in public health, health sciences, social welfare, and health and biotechnology law.

In the United States alone, burns are the third leading cause of death among children 0 to 14 years of age. In addition, each year greater than 125,000 children suffer serious burn injuries, with a disturbing percentage of those through abuse. Yet the number of specialized burn centers in the U.S. is not near enough to be in proximity or even accessible to the majority of these patients. The situation is even worse in most other regions of the world. Therefore, it is critical that the information in this book reaches as many caregivers as possible because treatment of burn injuries has undergone dramatic changes over time in every area, from surgical procedures to respiratory and fluid resuscitation and even nourishment and metabolic support. The ability to recognize and react appropriately to pediatric injury can greatly affect the outcome and prognosis, up to and including the patient's future quality of life. It is in this context that this comprehensive guide for the diagnosis, treatment and follow up of the burned child from Time Zero through Long-term Rehabilitation was put together. This book is essential for the medical professional involved in attaining the most positive outcome possible for their patients and their families.

Fundamentals of industrial hygiene is an introductory book for safety professionals that provides an overview in relation to the legislative requirements and occupational hygiene. This book reviews the aspects of safety from the inception of a hazard through the establishment of a hygiene programme and risk assessment. The book addresses the fundamental aspects of occupational hygiene, human physiology and industrial diseases linked to hygiene stressors. The topic in Fundamentals of industrial hygiene was chosen to assist the safety professional to manage the safety gaps in an organisation and to assist with the development of a hygiene programme through effective risk assessment. An effective hygiene programme stems from an effective safety leadership and co-operative cross-functional teams that strives for continual improvement of the organisations safety management system. The book begins with an historical overview of occupational hygiene and givens an overview of the legal framework of occupational hygiene. It is essential that the safety professional to understand the interaction of toxins in the human body, thus the book covers chapter related to human physiology and toxicology. From this exposure control and sampling strategy gives the safety professional an overview the basis of occupational hygiene and hygiene management. Fundamentals of industrial hygiene will assist safety professionals, safety management students, Chief Executive officers and employers to establish an occupational hygiene programmes within their organisation.

What new theories, evidence, andpolicies have shaped health economicsin the 21st century?

Editors Mark Pauly, Thomas McGuire, and Pedro Pita Barros assemblethe expertise of leading authoritiesin this survey ofsubstantive issues. In 16chapters theycover recent developments in health economics, from medical spending growth to the demand for health care, the markets for pharmaceutical products, the medical workforce, and equity in health and health care.Its global perspective, including an emphasis on low and middle-income countries, will result in the same high citations that made Volume 1 (2000) a foundational text.
Presents coherent summaries of major subjects and methodologies, marking important advances and revisions. Serves as a frequently used non-journal reference. Introduces non-economists to the best research in health economics. "

By combining electronic communication and information technology with healthcare practices, e-health promises access to health information, diagnosis, treatment, and care to patients who may "enter" and interact with the system in new ways. Telemedicine and E-Health Services, Policies, and Applications: Advancements and Developments offers a comprehensive and integrated approach to telemedicine by collecting e-health experiences and applications from around the world and by exploring developments and trends in medical informatics. Researchers and professionals in health management, medicine, nursing, and medical informatics will find discussions of critical issues in the emerging field of e- health. The book also introduces innovative concepts and services at the leading edge of healthcare and information technology, which may enable a safer, higher quality, more equitable and sustainable health system.

At present, human society is facing a health care crisis that is affecting patients worldwide. In the United States, it is generally believed that the major problem is lack of affordable access to health care (i.e. health insurance). This book takes an unprecedented approach to address this issue by proposing that the major problem is not lack of affordable access to health care per se, but lack of access to better, safer, and more affordable medicines. The latter problem is present not only in the United States and the developing world but also in countries with socialized health care systems, such as Europe and the rest of the industrialized world. This book provides a comparative analysis of the health care systems throughout the world and also examines the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

Examines the health care structure of the United States, Europe, and the third world, both separately and comparativelyOffers primary source insight through in-depth interviews with pharmaceutical and health care industry leaders from around the worldCarefully explains, in clear terms, the intricacies of the health care and pharmaceutical system and how these intricacies have led to the current crisisOffers concrete, comprehensive solutions to the health care crisis