Qigong (CHEE-GUNG) has swept America as the newest approach to healing and was on the rise in China until the recent Falun gong crackdowns. This 2,500-year-old form of traditional Chinese medicine claims that the human body has channels (meridians) through which flows a substance known as Qi. While internal Qigong is essentially a relaxation and meditation technique, external Qigong is an alleged form of energy radiation emitted from the fingertips of 'masters.' Practitioners of this form of Qigong claim that they can heal serious diseases such as hypertension, glaucoma, asthma, ulcers, and even cancer.This remarkable book, written by a group of Chinese scientists, discusses the nature and practice of Qigong and its various manifestations. They give special attention to the many pseudoscientific claims made for external Qigong and uncover a good deal of deception practised by charlatans in the name of medicine. Exposed are such alleged Qigong practices as: clairvoyance, telepathy, weightlessness, energy discharge, energy-impregnated language (Qigong prescriptions), and much more.

Sociologists and anthropologists have had a long interest in studying the ways in which cultures shaped different patterns of health, disease, and mortality. Social scientists have documented low rates of chronic disease and disability in non-Western societies and have suggested that social stability, cultural homogeneity and social cohesion may play a part in explaining these low rates. On the other hand, in studies of Western societies, social scientists have found that disease and mortality assume different patterns among various ethnic, cultural and social-economic groups. The role of stress, social change and a low degree of cohesion have been suggested, along with other factors as contributing to the variable rates among different social groups.

Social cohesion has been implicated in the cause and recovery from both physical and psychological illnesses. Although there has been a large amount of work established the beneficial effects of cohesion on health and well-being, relatively little work has focused on HOW increased social cohesion sustains or improves health. This work is based on the premise that there are risk factors, including social cohesion that regulate health and disease in groups. One of the challenges is how to measure social cohesion - it can be readily observed and experienced but difficult to quantify. A better understanding of how social cohesion works will be valuable to improving group-level interventions.

All people should have access to all that is available in their community and beyond. Neurodiverse individuals often experience barriers when engaging with businesses, even when obstacles can be easily remedied. This book will provide business owners, leaders, managers, team members, and associates the tools to integrate strategies and techniques that will enhance neurodiversity and inclusion, improving the delivery of a quality experience and increasing a varied customer base.

The war in Vietnam is a watershed moment in United States history - the first war lost by the U.S. despite its seemingly overwhelming military might. Surviving Vietnam focuses on the psychological consequences, especially posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), of service in such a war for U.S. veterans. The diagnosis of PTSD, termed following and significantly influenced by this war, stirred controversy. Much of the initial controversy centered on a major report in 1990 of what numerous critics regarded as unrealistically high rates of this disorder in U.S. veterans. Controversy continues about whether exposure to one or more potentially traumatic events is more significant to the development and persistence of PTSD than pre-exposure personal vulnerability factors, such as age, education and prior psychiatric disorder. This book describes attempts to resolve these controversies. Surviving Vietnam develops a unique blend of historical material, military records, clinical diagnoses of PTSD, and interviews with representative samples of veterans surveyed approximately a decade (the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study) and nearly four decades (the National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study) after the war's conclusion. The book begins with a history of the Vietnam war that provides context for the discussions of mental health thereafter, the outcomes of the severity of veterans' exposure to combat, their personal involvement in harm to civilians and prisoners, their race-ethnicity, and their military assignments. It discusses nurses' experiences in Vietnam and the psychological impact of veterans' chronic war-related PTSD on their families. Surviving Vietnam then examines factors affecting veterans' post-war readjustment, including the effects of changing public and veteran attitudes toward the war and the veterans' own appraisals of the impact of the war on their lives after the war. The authors conclude with a discussion of the policy implications of the research findings.

This trans-disciplinary book indicates the necessity for addressing well-being from individual, community and social perspectives in an integrated manner. The book complements the harm-based focus of much social scientific research into health. Invited experts from a wide range of academic disciplines contribute and together the chapters present a new dynamic view of well-being, one that will be crucial for the way in which we will cope with the Twenty-First Century.

This volume is directed toward researchers and health professionals with an interest in the interstices of social networks and health. It consists of original papers that address critical themes in health-related social network research and disease prevention. The sections discuss the dynamics of social networks and their role in providing social support under varying conditions and contexts; how social network theory and research contribute to disease prevention and control; methodological issues that affect recall and agreement when conducting social network studies; how social networks structure and facilitate or discourage health risk; and the role of network ties in disease prevention. The volume concludes by examining the influence of social support in health promotion, symptom identification and disease management.

This volume includes papers related to issues of technology, communication, health disparities and government options in health and health care services. It fills an existing gap by providing a clear sociological overview and focus on these topics. Technology is considered from the perspectives of providing healthcare equity, health disparities and the impact on doctor-patient relationships. The topic of communication is addressed in the format of public health messages and the use of internet chat rooms for discussions about health care services. Government roles and responsibilities are reflected upon in terms of health promotion, marketing and sales of health-related products and improving long-term care programs. Particular mention is made to learning lessons from the experiences and perspectives of other countries. Finally, health disparities are considered in socioeconomic terms, with particular reference to aging, depression, measures of health and healthcare in rural locations.

Fatigue is quite a familiar sensation, one that everyone is likely to have experienced. Its molecular and neural mechanisms have not yet been elucidated, however, probably because of the complicated nature of its causes. To provide a broad forum for discussion, the International Conference on Fatigue Science was organized, the first being held in 2002 in Sandhamn, Sweden, and the second in 2005 in Karuizawa, Japan. Subsequently it was decided that the papers presented at the two conferences should be collected and incorporated in this pioneering work, Fatigue Science for Human Health. The book summarizes fatigue researchers' achievements, explains the status of the research on fatigue, and presents perspectives on remedies for chronic fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome. The result is an authoritative guide to recent progress in the molecular and neural mechanisms of fatigue and in the development of the ways to prevent and overcome fatigue and chronic fatigue. This book provides a valuable resource not only for physicians but for all who work in public health.

Introduction to Nutrition and Health Research aims to fill a critical gap in dietetics, nutrition and health education literature by providing a comprehensive guide to conducting research and understanding the research of others. Using actual articles, this book teaches how researchers identified problems; how they framed those problems; and how they reported, interpreted and implemented their findings. Step by step, the chapters cover an overview of the process, statistical and measurement concepts, types of research (including experimental, quasi-experimental, descriptive, and qualitative research), how to present results and computer techniques for data analysis. While this book is primarily aimed at masters and doctoral level students and beginning researchers, it will also have strong appeal for teachers, technicians and counselors.

Before AIDS, the role of behavioral interventions in preventing transmission of sexually transmitted diseases was acknowledged in text books and journals but rarely promoted effectively in public health practice. Informed by a comprehensive knowledge of behavioral theory, intervention methods, and affected populations, the authors of this important book examine the central role of behavioral interventions in combating STDs. The book addresses the complexities and social contexts of human behaviors which spread STDs, the cultural barriers to STD education (ranging from conservative mores to "stay out of my bedroom" libertarianism), and the sociopolitical nuances surrounding treatment. Over forty contributors offer a practical appraisal of what is being done now and what can be improved, such as: an overview of current behavioral and biomedical interventions for STD prevention and control, a discussion of what works for individuals, groups, and communities, up to date thinking about such traditional prevention approaches as partner notification and health care seeking, STD prevention strategies with high-risk populations, including drug users, gay men, teenagers, incarcerated persons, and persons with repeat infections, the state of prevention technology: condoms, vaccines, the Internet, ethical, economic, and policy issues in STD prevention, applying intervention models to real-world situations, guidelines for program evaluation and improvement.

As STDs and AIDS remain top priorities for public health and private sector practitioners, researchers, and educators, "Behavioral Interventions for Prevention and Control of Sexually Transmitted Diseases" gives a long-neglected field theattention it deserves. This authoritative resource is sure to influence public health practice and policy in an ever-evolving social climate.

A unique resource for the general public and students interested in immigration and public health, this book presents a comprehensive history of public health and draws 10 key lessons for current immigration and health policymakers. The period of 1820 to 1920 was one of mass migration to the United States from other nations of origin. This century-long period served to develop modern medicine with the acceptance of the germ theory of disease and the lessons learned from how immigration officials and doctors of the United States Marine Hospital Service (USMHS) confronted six major pandemic diseases: bubonic plague, cholera, influenza, smallpox, trachoma, and yellow fever. This book provides a narrative history that relates how immigration doctors of the USMHS developed devices and procedures that greatly influenced the development of public health. It illuminates the distinct links between immigration policy and public health policy and distinguishes ten key lessons learned nearly 100 years ago that are still relevant to coping with current public health policy issues. By re-examining the experiences of doctors at three U.S. immigration/quarantine stations-Angel Island, Ellis Island, and New Orleans-in the early 19th century through the early 20th century, Doctors at the Borders: Immigration and the Rise of Public Health analyzes the successes and failures of these medical practitioners' pioneering efforts to battle pandemic diseases and identifies how the hard-won knowledge from that relatively primitive period still informs how public health policy should be written today. Readers will understand how the USMHS doctors helped shape the very development of U.S. public health and modern scientific medicine, and see the need for international cooperation in the face of today's global threats of pandemic diseases. Addresses many "hot topics" regarding public health, such as how to best cope with mass migration of legal and illegal immigrants; concern about pandemics like the Ebola crisis in West Africa, the Enterovirus-D68 outbreak, and the recent avian flu and swine flu epidemics; and the threat of bioterrorism within the United States Examines the history of the mass migration of the 1820-1920 era to provide insight into how to better cope with mass migration and the public health threats of today Demonstrates how more lives are saved through public health campaigns than any other approach to medicine, and that only a national approach to public health can adequately thwart the threats of pandemic disease to our entire country Presents information derived from original research from records at the National Archives and Records Administration and at the National Museum of Health and Medicine

The permanent struggle for optimisation can be seen as one of the most significant cultural principles of contemporary Western societies: the demand for improved performance and efficiency as well as the pursuit of self-improvement are con-sidered necessary in order to keep pace with an accelerated, competitive modern-ity. This affects not only work and education, but also family life, parent-child relationships and intimate relationships in respect to the body and the self, in regard to the public as well as the private realm. Bringing together contributions from renowned scholars from the fields of sociology, psychology and psycho-analysis, this book explores the impacts of optimisation on culture and psyche, examining the contradictions and limitations of optimisation, in conjunction with the effects of social transformations on individuals and shifts in regard to the meaning of 'pathology' and 'normality'.

This is a comprehensive guide written by leading specialists to offer new hope to those who have suffered a heart attack or who feel they are at risk. This important book offers case examples of people from all walks of life who are leading active and normal lives - even after suffering a heart attack.

This book is the first one to examine the cause and effect of elderly people's healthy life expectancy, providing models that are easy to understand. The novel point is the success achieved in constructing a single structural model of cause and effect of healthy life expectancy. In the final models of the authors' studies, it was possible to clearly point out that it is not the case that lifestyle habits including an ideal diet directly provide for healthy life expectancy.This book is made up of published studies based on scientific evidence, using a vast amount of data based on about 8,000 in-home elderly people tracked longitudinally from 3 to 6 years, three times in all including baseline research, in a specific region of Japan. Therefore, health policy makers will be able to use this book as scientific evidence for creating area programs to promote good health that are focused on healthy longevity as the central issue. Academic researchers whose special fields are mainly public health will be able to learn both theory and practice to structurally analyze cause and effect of health factors.

The process of patient education allows for patients to think about their health in new ways and for educators and professionals to propose new ways to heal, with the ultimate goal of patients having a positive outlook on life and consistently maintained health. Innovative Collaborative Practice and Reflection in Patient Education presents multigenre writing, incorporating authors' personal and professional stories along with academic theories. It combines the fields of education and medicine, presenting innovative approaches to health education and designing new approaches to healing. This research publication will impact the field of health education and be of use to educators, researchers, practitioners, professionals, and patients.

This volume presents research on women's experiences, attitudes and perceptions, considering their work roles and in the context of their lives outside work. It explores the various choices women may opt to take, and the resources they may use, and presents options they may wish to consider over the course of their working lives. The research presented here is varied and the methods used include cross-sectional and longitudinal research, reviews of literature, as well as experiences and practical suggestions from clinical, organisational, health and occupational health psychologists, in addition to occupational safety and health practitioners. It looks at women who are part-time employees, those in vulnerable positions in the informal economy to women in mainstream, full-time employment. The chapters present theoretical underpinnings of how, what, when and where women approach work options, approach life and approach living. The overarching factor that links these chapters is the focus on women as a vital resource in the world economy, with an exploration of the options that are available to them and how these could be maximised to retain a productive and healthy female workforce.

The purpose of this text is to explain what HACCP really is and what it can do for any food business. It leads the reader through the accepted international approach to HACCP and shows how to do it, from start to finish of the initial study, through to continuous maintenance of your system. The information given within the book may also be used as a basis for developing a HACCP training programme. The second edition takes account of a number of changes in the HACCP field in the intervening four years. The Codex "HACCP system and guidelines" has been updated and republished and increased experience in the practicalities of HACCP worldwide has led to changes in the way it is applied.

Ageing populations have gradually become a major concern in many industrialised countries over the past fifty years, drawing the attention of both politics and science. The target of a raft of health and social policies, older people are often identified as a specific, and vulnerable, population. At the same time, ageing has become a specialisation in many disciplines - medicine, sociology, psychology, to name but three - and a discipline of its own: gerontology. This book questions the framing of old age by focusing on the relationships between policy making and the production of knowledge. The first part explores how the meeting of scientific expertise and the politics of old age anchors the construction of both individual and collective relationships to the future. Part II brings to light the many ways in which issues relating to ageing can be instrumentalised and ideologised in several public debate arenas. Part III argues that scientific knowledge itself composes with objectivity, bringing ideologies of its own to the table, and looks at how this impacts discourse about ageing. In the final part, the contributors discuss how the frames can themselves be experienced at different levels of the division of labour, whether it is by people who work on them (legislators or scientists), by people working with them (professional carers) or by older people themselves. Unpacking the political and moral dimensions of scientific research on ageing, this cutting-edge volume brings together a range of multidisciplinary, European perspectives, and will be of use to all those interested in old age and the social sciences.

The post war history of public health and the role of smoking within that history epitomises the tensions which surround taking health to the public. Public health history has largely concentrated on the nineteenth century sanitary period or on the years before the Second World War, often focussing on the environmental advances, or on the professional and occupational history of public health as an activity. This book has a different focus: it deals with the change in the outlook of public health post war. From a focus on services, vaccination, and dealing with health issues at the local level, public health had developed new discourse. Centring on chronic disease, it became concerned with the concept of "risk" and targeted individual behaviour. The mass media and centralised campaigning directed at the whole population replaced local campaigns, and politicians changed their mind about speaking directly to the public on health matters. Their early worries about the 'nanny state' gave place to a desire to inculcate new norms of behaviour, and it was debated how change was to be achieved.
Identifying debates between those believing in "systematic gradualism" and those who advocated a more coercive approach, Virginia Berridge uses smoking as a model. Such debates brought into play tensions over the relationships between public health and industrial interests. Health campaigning by new style pressure groups like ASH, which were part state funded, was an important motive force behind the change.
In the 1980s and 1990s, public health changed again. Passive smoking and HIV/AIDS brought environmental concerns back into public health, which had disappeared after the 1950s. The "rise ofaddiction" for smoking demonstrated the power of pharmaceutical interests to define a new "pharmaceutical public health" in which treatment and "magic bullets" were also tactics for prevention. In the early 21st century, public health was play to complex tensions and conflicting impetuses. This book shows that those tensions were nothing new and outlines their development over the last half century.