This book presents an evaluation framework for assessing the impact of the new media on the health care system by juxtaposing characteristics of emerging information and communication technologies (interactive, seamlessly connected, and user-driven) and health care objectives (to increase access, improve quality, and manage costs). Each chapter provides a unique set of tools and perspectives on how to harness these new media to improve individual health and the health care delivery system. This innovative volume has also stimulated the creation of a "Forum on Health and the New Media" on the World Wide Web (http: //Health.Dartmouth.edu/NewMedia/). The forum offers highlights of the book as well as links to the authors and related web sites.
The volume is divided into six sections as follows:
*The "Overview" juxtaposes characteristics of the new media (interactive, connected, and user-driven) with the three criteria for health care improvement: increased access, improved quality, and cost management. It offers a New Media and Health Care matrix of criteria for building and evaluating emerging health care systems.
*The "Delivery" -- how new media can enhance the delivery of health care -- includes chapters on: managed care, demand management and self-care, telemedicine for rural residents, and how the Internet can be used to facilitate collaboration among health researchers and providers.
*Health Information -- the life blood of health care -- addresses the potential for: extending the traditional flow of health information (from researchers to providers) to reach patients who want to share in decisions about their care; and the federal government's role in providing health information to the public.
*Health Education discusses: integrating multimedia health programming for public schools; using networked multimedia and simulation technologies and new learning theories that promise to transform public health education; and educating health providers and patients through interactive media and drama.
*Potholes Along the Highway provides a sobering balance to otherwise rather optimistic assumptions that a national information infrastructure will be forthcoming.
*The New Media: Annotated Glossary provides computing and networking technology tools for readers who are not fluent in cyberlanguage.

Traditionally in health services research, cost, quality and access to care have been viewed as the three major issues of health care delivery and have been important in the development of health services research as a multidisciplinary way to examine issues in health care and health care delivery. Satisfaction is often viewed as a specialized aspect of access to care. Given the sociological focus of this volume, costs are less of a focus, but access, quality and satisfaction are important sociological aspects of health services delivery concerns and have been for more than 30 years. This volume explores a variety of those issues in todays health care system, with a strong sociological focus.
Besides the introductory section of the volume, the other sections of the volume focus on articles that are about patients and special types of care, elderly care issues, issues of access, quality and satisfaction with care from the perspective of foreign health care systems, and these issues in public systems of care. Some of the specific chapters look at issues of care for Vietnam veterans, patients with myocardial infarctions, and dental care and maternity care, elderly care issues, and what can be learned from explorations of some aspects of the health care systems of Canada and Hungary.
Access, Quality and Satisfaction with Care is essential reading for medical sociologists and people working in other social science disciplines studying health-related issues. The volume also provides vital information for health services researchers, policy analysts and public health researchers.
*Looks at health care from a sociological perspective that is more focused on access, quality andsatisfaction than cost
*Chapters focus on specialized forms of care and specific issues (i.e. Vietnam Veterans, dental and maternity care, elderly care issues, health care systems in different countries, etc.)
*Essential for medical sociologists and others in social science industries studying health-related issues

Hospice Care and Cultural Diversity captures the richness and differences that make up the United States and its culture. This book shows you the complex issues arising from work with patients of a different culture and encourages research in hospices which support culturally innovative programs. Many people are individually knowledgeable and culturally sensitive, but few hospices have systematically planned for service to culturally diverse groups. This volume identifies who is implementing organizational programs of cultural sensitivity and acknowledges the efforts of those individuals working to make hospice accessible to everyone.Hospice Care and Cultural Diversity contains original research, personal insights, and overviews to help you understand what is being done in the field. Specifically, chapters discuss: National Hospice Organization activities, goals, and recommended actions death and dying from a Native American perspective breaking barriers to hospice for African Americans a case study of the development of a culturally sensitive treatment plan in pre-hospice south Texas caregiving norms surrounding dying and use of hospice services among Hispanic American elderly cultural considerations surrounding childhood bereavement among Cambodians in the U.S. one hospice's experience in identifying and meeting the needs of ethnic minority patientsPeople from many different cultures are eager to share their customs, practices, and beliefs. They want hospice providers to understand their culture, and they want their community served by hospice. The only book of its kind, Hospice Care and Cultural Diversity is a valuable reference and source of ideas for anyone interested in the delivery of hospice services. From students to experts, you will find much information to help make hospice care accessible and comfortable for all groups of people.

With moves towards greater integration of health and social care services, there is a need for improved understanding of the importance and benefits of a person-centred, holistic approach to work in these fields. This accessible text, the product of a collaborative venture between older people's groups and academics, provides students, academics and practitioners across a wide range of health and social care professions with a guide to understanding the value of this approach. Health, well-being and older people: provides an overview of relevant research and service development literature; presents and discusses a range of issues that are important to the health of older people including attitudes and ageism, the body, the environment, family and community, sexuality and having fun; draws on material developed and, in some cases, written by older people themselves; integrates theory and empirical evidence with practice experience; offers models of best practice. Designed with the needs of students in mind, each chapter has helpful aids to understanding including: key learning points; models for case studies; summaries and exercises; glossaries and recommended texts. Throughout, readers are encouraged to think through the implications of the material in respect of their own service settings. Health, well-being and older people is essential reading for students and staff on qualifying and post-qualifying programmes in nursing, social work, social care, social policy, gerontology and related courses. It is also recommended reading for practitioners who will want to engage with the ideas for best practice presented in the book.

Explore real women's tales of healthcare trauma and medical misogyny with this "masterfully written" (Sophia A. Nelson, bestselling author of The Woman Code and Black Woman Redefined), meticulously researched, in-depth examination of the women's health crisis in America--and what we can do about it. When Anushay Hossain became pregnant in the US, she was so relieved. Growing up in Bangladesh in the 1980s, where the concept of women's healthcare hardly existed, she understood how lucky she was to access the best in the world. But she couldn't have been more wrong. Things started to go awry from the minute she stepped into the hospital, and after thirty hours of labor (two of which she spent pushing), Hossain's epidural slipped. Her pain was so severe that she ran a fever of 104 degrees, and as she shook and trembled uncontrollably, the doctors finally performed an emergency C-section. Giving birth in the richest country on earth, Hossain never imagined she could die in labor. But she almost did. The experience put her on a journey to explore, understand, and share how women--especially women of color--are dismissed to death by systemic sexism in American healthcare. Following in the footsteps of feminist manifestos such as The Feminine Mystique and Rage Becomes Her, The Pain Gap is an "eye-opening" (Christy Turlington Burns, founder of Every Mother Counts) and stirring call to arms that encourages women to flip their "hysteria complex" on its head and use it to revolutionize women's healthcare. This book tells the story of Hossain's experiences--from growing up in South Asia surrounded by staggering maternal mortality rates to lobbying for global health legislation on Capitol Hill to nearly becoming a statistic herself. Along the way, she realized that a little fury might be just what the doctor ordered. Meticulously researched and deeply reported, this "must-read" (Soraya Chemaly, author of Rage Becomes Her) book explores real women's traumatic experiences with America's healthcare system--and empowers everyone to use their experiences to bring about the healthcare revolution women need.

As health care costs soar, there is increasing interest in examining what society and, particularly, patients receive in return for these expenditures. Optimizing Health brings together the best thinking from both sides of the Atlantic to explore these issues. It employs disciplinary perspectives from economics, ethics, philosophy, psychology, clinical practice, and epidemiology to explore various ways that value for patients have and can be determined. It concludes with a discussion of changes required in practice, research, and health care systems to maximize the outcomes received from the provision of medical care services from the patient's perspective. The first section of the book provides theoretical perspectives from economics and systems thinking that help us to focus on how one might determine the value of medical care for patients. The next section considers the ethical and philosophical dilemmas that face developed countries in distributing medical care. How is justice served and evidence-based medicine employed to increase the value of medical care for patients? perspective and involving patients in medical decision making. Measuring quality of life and gaining valid quality of life information when patients cannot respond for themselves are important topics covered by these chapters. Other chapters consider ways that patients can become more involved in medical decision making with the expectation that this will increase the value of medical care for patients. A major section of the book about clinical practice discusses problems that can reduce the value to patients of medical care. These include over diagnosis, aggressive treatments that do not result in better patient outcomes, findings that earlier diagnosis does not always result in better outcomes, and the extent of medical error in treatment. The final sections deal with cost-effectiveness analyses and applications of clinical epidemiology. The chapters include a number of original investigations and applications of new methodologies. researchers who want to find in one place the state-of-the-art thinking and future directions of valuing medical care from the patient's perspective. Ronald Andersen Wasserman is the Professor Emeritus of the Departments of Health Services and Sociology at the University of California School of Public Health in Los Angeles.

The contributing authors of this volume--respected authorities on health care and social work--describe the shift from hospital based care to ambulatory patient and family focused community based services. Social Work in Ambulatory Care assists readers who need to develop, plan, and implement new social work roles for a changing health care system. Chapters focus on the implications of health care reform, based on policy or economic mandates, and provide specific examples of how social service providers can approach health care in a new era.As the authors describe the shift in health care to ambulatory care and the role of social work in this new environment, they cover areas of potential concern to social service providers. Readers will be challenged to plan new social work roles in the future--roles that help advance social work s own definitions of health and wellness. Specific examples of creative roles for social work are described and several of the most important areas this guidebook analyzes are: the health care system under siege support groups managed care emergency room community based careFor social workers in health settings, struggling with the questions of relevance, growth, and worth in a changing environment, Social Work in Ambulatory Care provokes new ideas about health care for the future.

Advanced Statistics for Health Research provides a rigorous geometric understanding of models used in the analysis of health data, including linear and non-linear regression models, and supervised machine learning models. Models drawn from the health literature include: ordinary least squares, two-stage least squares, probits, logits, Cox regressions, duration modeling, quantile regression and random forest regression. Causal inference techniques from the health literature are presented including randomization, matching and propensity score matching, differences-in-differences, instrumental variables, regression discontinuity, and fixed effects analysis. Codes for the respective statistical techniques presented are given for STATA, SAS and R.

Introduction The prevailing model of medical care for patients with cancer emphasizes the curative efforts of medical technology toward the eradication of the disease. Yet the suffering of the patient as a result of both the disease and our efforts to treat it is often overlooked. If we are to improve the survival of patients with cancer, it will be through intensive research into the molecular under pinnings of the disease and clinical trials of new therapies. However, it is essen tial to recognize and address the suffering of cancer patients as they are being treated. It is the purpose of this book to illuminate and advance the preven tion and treatment of suffering as part of the continuum of care for patients with cancer. Fundamental concepts Since the time of Hippocrates in the fifth century B.c., there have been two overall goals for the physician: * Cure of disease * Relief of suffering From our vantage point in the late twentieth century looking back at previ ous centuries, it is easy to observe that, aside from surgery, much of the medical care administered to patients with cancer was aimed at relieving the suffering associated with illness. It wasn't until the concept of disease (as opposed to illness) was elucidated and the scientific method was applied to understand ing and eradicating cancer that significant strides were made to improve the physician's ability to cure cancer.

This is an increasingly timely book, focusing on issues arising from the impact of COVID-19 on the health care law of the Central and East European countries. It deals with dualism and system of health care law, depicts legal personality in the field of health care, examines property rights and turnover of human tissues, considers moral rights in this field, intellectual ownership in the field of medicine and pharmacy, contracts on health care and contracts on rendering medical services, the legal relationships of transplantology, post-mortem reproduction and donorship, features of family personal property rights in the field of health care, problems of legal regulation of medical workers labour, investigates private legal relationships of surrogate motherhood with foreign element. Special attention is given to the alternative resolution of health care disputes and impact of pandemic on the effective health rights protection. The book is intended for wide auditoria of scholars and practitioners, who engaged in health care rights protection, as well as judges and practicing lawyers, graduate and undergraduate students.

Why is our health care system so fragmented in the care it gives patients? Why is there little coordination amongst the many doctors who treat individual patients, who often even lack access to a common set of medical records? Why is fragmentation a problem even within a single hospital, where errors or miscommunications often seem to result from poor coordination amongst the myriad of professionals treating any one individual patient? Why is health care fragmented both over time, so that too little is spent on preventive care, and across patients, so that resources are often misallocated to the patients who need it least? The Fragmentation of U.S. Health Care: Causes and Solutions approaches these broad questions with a highly interdisciplinary approach.
The articles included in the work address legal and regulatory issues, including laws that mandate separate payments for each provider, restrict hospitals or others from controlling or rewarding the set of providers treating a patient to assure coordinated care, and provide affirmative disincentives for coordinating care by paying more for uncoordinated care that requires more services. Business reasons for the current form of hospital organization are considered, and efficiency and design are examined and compared to other industries. The economics of current hospital organization are also taken into account. The authors examine and propose various reforms that make our health care system less fragmented, more efficient, and more medically effective.

Providing a cross-cultural perspective on the social construction of AIDS in Brazil, this book presents research by authors who have a decade's experience in AIDS activism and social research. The final section offers a powerful portrayal of problems faced by a person living with AIDS.

Contents:
Lesbian health care research - a review of the literature from 1970 to 1990; ecological transition - using Bronfenbrenner's model to study sexual identity change; lesbian stereotypes; reasons American lesbians fail to seek traditional health care; lesbians as an invisible minority in the health service arena; health life styles of lesbians' images of recovery from alcohol problems; how do lesbian women develop serenity; lesbian childbearing couples' dilemmas and decisions; an investigation of the health care preferences of the lesbian population; the lesbian custody project.

This book focuses on the complexities of the communication of health-related messages and information through the use of case studies. The expert contributors to this volume are scholars who, during their research and consulting, grapple with many of the issues of concern to those studying health communication. While several introductory books offer brief case studies to illustrate concepts covered, this book provides in-depth cases that enable more advanced students to apply theory to real situations.

Despite educational efforts, the majority of Americans are still under the misconception that they are not at risk from HIV/AIDS infection. In addition, the federal government only spends 2% of the total designated federal AIDS funding toward prevention. Thus, information in respect to AIDS and health communication in any comprehensive nature is almost nonexistent.; This book aims to rectify the situation by presenting detailed analysis and actions necessary to confront the AIDS pandemic on every level of the communication realm. Contributors are experienced researchers, educators, government officials, and physicians. They examine the issue from a number of standpoints, including: communication, adolescent medicine, public administration, psychology, journalism, audiology, speech and language pathology, neurological surgery, preventive medicine and public health.

Pharmaceutical Economics begins with an investigation of the structure of the industry and its three main components: the research firms which produce innovative products; the generic drug industry and its expanding role; and the biotech industry, which is regarded as the future for pharmaceuticals. Further sections discuss topics including demand and incentives, pricing and regulation. Professor Comanor and Professor Schweitzer have selected the most significant articles by leading academics, in order to offer a blend of standard economic interpretations of pharmaceutical policy and important new topics including biosimilars, insurance coverage for pharmaceuticals, price-fixing and direct-to-consumer advertising. An authoritative new introduction by the editors provides an insightful guide to these important topics.

Contents:
Acknowledgements, Author's Preface, Introduction, Part One: Discovering Bodies, 1. The Body Question: Recent Developments in Social Theory, 2. The Absent Body in Structuration Theory, 3. Reflections on the Epistemology of the Hand, Part Two: Medical Sociology, 4. The Interdisciplinary Curriculum: From Social Medicine to Postmodernism, 5. The Body and Medical Sociology, Part Three: Regimes of Regulation, 6. The Government of the Body: Medical Regimes and the Rationalization of Diet, 7. The Anatomy Lesson: A Note on the Merton Thesis, 8. The Talking Disease, Conclusion: Theory and Epistemology of the Body: Interview with Richard Fardon, Appendix

This book focuses on justice and its demands in the way of providing people with medical care. Building on recent insights on the nature of moral perceptions and motivations from the neurosciences, it makes a case for the traditional medical ethic and examines its financial feasibility. The book starts out by giving an account of the concept of justice and tracing it back to the practices and tenets of Hippocrates and his followers, while taking into account findings from the neurosciences. Next, it considers whether the claim that it is just to limit medical care for everyone to some basic minimum is justifiable. The book then addresses finances and expenditures of the US health care system and shows that the growth of expenditures and the percentage of the gross national product spent on health care make for an unsustainable trajectory. In light of the question what should be changed, the book suggests that overdiagnosis and medicalizing normal behavior lead to harmful, costly and unnecessary interventions and are the result of unethical behavior on the part of the pharmaceutical industry and extensive ethical failures of the FDA. The book ends with suggestions about what can be done to put the U.S. health care system on the path to sustainability, better medical care, and compliance with the demands of justice.

In the early modern centuries disease was rampant, medicine had few powerful weapons in its armoury, and the provision of professional medical care was patchy. Under such circumstances it is no surprise that a body of popularised medical writings appeared, aiming to explain how ordinary people could best take care of their own health, in the absence of, or by way of supplement to, professional medical care. Often written by doctors, such books gave simple advice for home treatments, while commonly warning of the dangers of magic, quackery, old wive's tales and faith healing. "The Popularization of Medicine" explores the rise of this form of people's medicine, from the early days of printing to the Victorian age, focusing upon the different experiences of Britain and France, more marginal European nations like Spain and Hungary, and upon North America. It assesses the wider social and cultural history contexts of the tradition: its religious rationales in radical Protestantism, conflicts between elite and popular culture, challenges to medical monopoly, and the spread of medical hegemony. This book should be of interest to undergraduates, postgraduates, academics and researchers con

What are the political forces which drive the process of change in the health service? How do these forces impact on existing structures of power, policy and organisation? In addressing these questions, Brian Salter applies an original theory of political change to key areas of NHS activity. He shows how the escalating demand for health care combined with recent radical policy initiatives has posed different problems for politicians, doctors, bureaucrats and managers. Out of the accommodations reached, a new shape has emerged for the NHS.

This volume is the fourth in a series designed to facilitate inter-disciplinary communication between scientists concerned with the description of societal phenomena and those investigating adult development. As such, it contains a compilation of papers presented at an annual conference held at the Pennsylvania State University. These essays by sociologists and epidemiologists deal with the impact of disease and health outcomes with advancing age and are critiqued by members of related disciplines. In addition, there are overviews as well as specific discussions about the impact of cancer, depression, and cardiovascular diseases upon psychosocial functions.