![]() |
![]() |
Your cart is empty |
||
Books > Medicine > General issues > Public health & preventive medicine
For all its costs, flaws, and inequities, American health care is fundamentally rooted in a belief that treatment should be based on solid scientific research. To this end, between 2003 and 2010, three different federal laws were enacted, the most recent being the Affordable Care Act of 2010, that mandated new federal investments in a type of clinical research called comparative effectiveness research (CER) - research into what works best in medical care. Comparative Effectiveness Research: Evidence, Medicine, and Policy provides the first complete account of how - and why - the federal government decided to make CER an important feature of health reform. Despite earlier legislative uptake of policy proposals on CER, support for federal mandates took dramatic twists and turns, with eventual compromises forged amid failing bipartisan alliances, special interests, and mobilized public opinion. Based on exhaustive research and first-hand interviews, the authors examine where CER fits in the production of scientific evidence about the benefits and harms of treatments for human diseases and conditions. Their work offers sobering confirmation that contemporary American medical care falls, not surprisingly, well short of the evidence-based ideal. Comparative Effectiveness Research demonstrates that dealing constructively with the vast uncertainties inherent to medical care requires policies to make the generation of high-quality evidence an inseparable part of routine health care.
Americans' health improved dramatically over the twentieth century. Public health programs for disease and injury prevention were responsible for much of this advance. Over the century, America's public health system grew dramatically, employing science and political authority in response to an increasing array of health problems. As the disease burden of the old scourges of infection, perinatal mortality, and dietary deficiencies began to lift, public health's mandate expanded to take on new health threats, such as those resulting from a changing workplace, the rise of the automobile, and chronic and complex conditions caused by smoking, diet and other lifestyle and environmental factors. Public health measures almost always occur on contested ground; accordingly, controversies and recriminations over past failures often persist. In contrast, public health's many successes, even the imperfect ones, become part of the fabric of everyday life, a fact already apparent early in the last century, when C.E.A. Winslow reminded his peers that the lives saved and healthy years extended were the "silent victories" of public health. In its exploration of ten major public health issues addressed in the 20th century, Silent Victories takes a unique approach: for each issue, leading scientists in the field trace the discoveries, practices and programs that reduced morbidity and mortality from disease and injury, and an accompanying chapter by a historian or social scientist highlights key moments or conflicts that shaped public health action on that issue. The book concludes with a look toward the challenges public health must face in the future. Silent Victories reveals the lessons of history in aformat designed to appeal to students, health professionals and the public seeking to understand how public health advanced the country's health in the 20th century, and the challenges to protecting health in the future.
On August 5, 2010, a cave-in left thirty-three Chilean miners trapped underground. The Chilean government embarked on a massive rescue effort that is estimated to have cost between ten and twenty million dollars. There is a puzzle here. Many mine safety measures that would have been more cost effective had not been taken in Chile earlier, either by the mining companies, the Chilean government or by international donors. The Chilean story illustrates a persistent puzzle: the identified lives effect. Human beings show a greater inclination to assist persons and groups identified as those at high risk of great harm than to assist persons and groups who will suffer - or already suffer - similar harm but are not identified as yet. The problem touches almost every aspect of human life and politics: health, the environment, the law. What can social and cognitive sciences teach us about the origin and triggers of the effect? Philosophically and ethically, is the effect a "bias" to be eliminated or is it morally justified? What implications does the effect have for health care, law, the environment and other practice domains? This volume is the first book to tackle the effect from all necessary perspectives: psychology, public health, law, ethics, and public policy.
"Innovative Approaches for Difficult-to-Treat Populations" makes recommendations for developing and disseminating innovative mental health services. It is geared toward clinicians, administrators, and policy-makers struggling to develop both clinically effective and cost-effective mental health and substance abuse services, and it focuses on services for individuals who use the highest proportion of mental health resources and for whom traditional services have not been effective. These target populations include youth with serious behavioral and emotional disturbances and adults with severe and persistent mental illnesses. The innovative approaches reviewed include diverse treatment methods for differing clinical populations. These varied approaches have several common elements: Social-ecological theory frameworks An emphasis on delivering flexible, comprehensive, pragmatic, and goal-oriented interventions in persons& rsquo; natural environments Increased accountability on the part of service providers The transition from centralized to community-based care is discussed, and normalizing a patient& rsquo;s daily routine as an important factor in the success of state-of-the-art community support programs is emphasized "Innovative Approaches for Difficult-to-Treat Populations" offers mental health professionals and students a firsthand look at the future direction of clinical services. Policy issues necessary to developing and disseminating progressive treatments are addressed, including the downsizing of state psychiatric hospitals, strategies for reforming state mental hospital systems, and ethical issues in research on child and adolescent mental disorders.
Nutritional requirements vary greatly according to age and lifestyle. This evidence-based, comprehensive text is a complete guide to eating habits across age and population groups. It provides the recommendations for intakes of nutrients and foods, and diet to achieve optimum health.Chapters systematically examine the nutritional issues for individuals from preconception, pregnancy and breastfeeding through to adulthood and old age. The text features an overview of dietary patterns by age group based on national scientific survey data together with the latest recommendations for optimum nutrition to maintain well-being and address specific health concerns. The final section examines nutrition issues for specific populations including indigenous groups, athletes and the disadvantaged. Throughout the text, key points are illustrated by case studies and the reader's knowledge is tested via quizzes and study questions.With chapters from leading nutrition researchers and educators in Australia, New Zealand and Asia, this is an excellent introduction to nutrition through the lifespan.' A comprehensive overview and detailed discussion of food and nutrition topics for all ages and stages of life.' - Robynne Snell, Curtin University
Public Health Practice in Australia offers a thorough introduction to what public health practitioners do, and the 'effort' involved in improving the health of the public.This second edition has been fully revised and updated in line with current policies and practice. It highlights common threads that underlie seemingly disparate activities, ideas and entities that comprise the organised effort of public health practice. The emphasis is on securing and maintaining the conditions in society that enable people to live healthy and fulfilling lives.The authors examine the impact of historical, social, economic, environmental and political factors on the health of individuals, communities and populations. Taking an applied, multidisciplinary approach, they outline the strategies and tools that public health practitioners use to improve health outcomes: identifying infrastructure needs in the workforce, public and private sector organisations, and in regulation; gathering, analysing and using health data; applying interventions in health policy, provision of health services and health promotion.Public Health Practice in Australia draws on current international and Australian research and the interwoven case studies make the theories and concepts come alive. It is a valuable resource for students and professionals across the health sciences including public health, medicine, environmental health, health promotion, health information management and health administration.'The book is impressive in the completeness, clarity and consistency of the material covered, and for the way in which many of the theoretical issues are related to current practice. An extremely useful and valuable reference for both students and practitioners alike.' - Thomas Tenkate, Environmental Health
"Managing Managed Care II: A Handbook for Mental Health Professionals," Second Edition, provides an easy-to-learn, easy-to-use method for documenting and communicating the necessity, appropriateness, and course of treatment for managed care review. Using the Patient Impairment Profile method, practitioners can convincingly convey a clinical rationale for treatment, efficiently track progress over time, and demonstrate favorable patient outcomes. Keeping pace with the evolving and expanding presence of managed care, the authors have extensively revised and enlarged the previous edition. New clinical research on the validity and reliability of the impairment terminology has produced a much-improved, clinically valid, and statistically reliable impairment lexicon. Detailed severity rating qualifiers, reference lists of patient objectives, and a useful glossary have been added. All regulations have also been updated. "Managing Managed Care II" is reference and valuable resource for mental health practitioners and for the individuals who monitor and review treatment. By providing concise, relevant, and outcome-focused treatment information, practitioners become proactive participants in managed care while adeptly articulating the value and quality of their services.
From the national bestselling author of The Food Explorer comes the untold story of Alice Hamilton, a trailblazing doctor and public health activist who took on the booming auto industry—and the deadly invention of leaded gasoline, which would poison millions of people across America. At noon on October 27, 1924, a factory worker was admitted to a hospital in New York City, suffering from hallucinations and convulsions. Before breakfast the next day, he was dead. Alice Hamilton was determined to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. By the time of the accident, Hamilton had pioneered the field of industrial medicine in the United States. She specialized in workplace safety years before the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was created. She was the first female professor at Harvard. She spent decades inspecting factories and mines. But this time, she was up against a formidable new foe: America’s relentless push for progress, regardless of the cost. The 1920s were an exciting decade. Industry was booming. Labor was flourishing. Automobiles were changing roads, cities, and nearly all parts of American life. And one day, an ambitious scientist named Thomas Midgley Jr. triumphantly found just the right chemical to ensure that this boom would continue. His discovery—tetraethyl leaded gasoline—set him up for great wealth and the sort of fame that would land his name in history books. Soon, Hamilton would be on a collision course with Midgley, fighting full force against his invention, which poisoned the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the basic structure of our brains. American Poison is the gripping story of Hamilton’s unsung battle for a healthy planet—and the ramifications that continue to echo today.
Originally published in 1995, the first edition of Managing Your
Mind established a unique place in the self-help book market. A
blend of tried-and-true psychological counseling and no-nonsense
management advice grounded in the principles of CBTand other
psychological treatments, the book straddled two types of self-help
literature, arguing that in one's personal and professional life,
the way to success is the same. By adopting the practical
strategies that mental health experts Butler and Hope have
developed over years of clinical research and practice, one can
develop the "mental fitness" necessary to resolve one's personal
and interpersonal challenges at home and work and to live a
productive, satisfying life.
More than 50 years ago, President Kennedy gave an address to Congress that launched the community mental health movement in the U.S. This movement involved a vast and complex effort to replace the wholesale institutionalization of people with serious mental illnesses with community mental health centers, public education on mental illness, and prevention efforts. The mission and main thrust of this new movement, however, were quite simple: we would provide effective mental health treatment to people in their home communities and provide the conditions for them to have 'a life in the community.' Starting in the 1990s with Jim, a person who was homeless and initially refused help from outreach workers, Citizenship & Mental Health tells a 20-year story of practice, theory, and research to support the full participation of persons with mental illnesses who, in many cases, have also been homeless, have criminal charges in their past, and are poor. As the first of its kind, this book addresses the concept of citizenship as an applied theory for fulfilling the promise of the community mental health center movement. Citizenship is defined as a strong connection to the 5 R's of rights, responsibilities, roles, resources, and relationships that society offers to its members, and a sense of belonging that comes from others' recognition of one's valued membership in society. The citizenship model supports the strengths, hopes, and aspirations of people with mental illnesses to become neighbors, community members, and citizens.
Includes a 30-Day fasting reset that uses the power of your cycle―even
if you no longer have one!
The first edition of Human Genome Epidemiology, published in 2004,
discussed how the epidemiologic approach provides an important
scientific foundation for studying the continuum from gene
discovery to the development, applications and evaluation of human
genome information in improving health and preventing disease.
Since that time, advances in human genomics have continued to occur
at a breathtaking pace.
Health Promotion in Midwifery explores the principles of health promotion within the practical context of midwifery. It clearly outlines and discusses the midwife's role in health promotion, making it essential reading for all student and practising midwives, as well as clinical practitioners. Emphasizing the link between theory and practice, the second edition incorporates chapters on domestic violence, sexual health, breastfeeding, and mental health promotion. Text boxes make the text accessible and user-friendly and case studies and summaries put the material in practical context. Additional readings encourage readers to further research and reflection on their own practice. Throughout the book, the importance of the role of the midwife in health promotion is emphasized. This second edition brings together contributions from a variety of experienced practitioners.
For nearly 70 years, this resource has been the standard for diabetes education and meal planning. Based on input from current users, this new edition has been streamlined and redesigned and enhanced with more food images. It also features updated carbohydrate, protein, and fat information for a wide variety of food and beverages that reflect the diverse populations living with diabetes. This edition includes action-oriented eating plan tips throughout, a new section on Snacks and Extras, dedicated pages for notes, and a customizable eating plan.
This book presents a logical system of critical appraisal, to allow readers to evaluate studies and to carry out their own studies more effectively. This system emphasizes the central importance of cause and effect relationships. Its great strength is that it is applicable to a wide range of issues, and both to intervention trials and observational studies. This system unifies the often different approaches used in epidemiology, health services research, clinical trials, and evidence-based medicine, starting from a logical consideration of cause and effect. The author's approach to the issues of study design, selection of subjects, bias, confounding, and the place of statistical methods has been praised for its clarity and interest. Systematic reviews, meta-analysis, and the applications of this logic to evidence-based medicine, knowledge-based health care, and health practice and policy are discussed. Current and often controversial examples are used, including screening for prostate cancer, publication bias in psychiatry, public health issues in developing countries, and conflicts between observational studies and randomized trials. Statistical issues are explained clearly without complex mathematics, and the most useful methods are summarized in the appendix. The final chapters give six applications of the critical appraisal of major studies: randomized trials of medical treatment and prevention, a prospective and a retrospective cohort study, a small matched case-control study, and a large case-control study. In these chapters, sections of the original papers are reproduced and the original studies placed in context by a summary of current developments.
THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLER Do you ever feel worried, miserable or unfulfilled - yet put on a happy face and pretend everything's fine? You are not alone. Stress, anxiety, depression and low self-esteem are all around. Research suggests that many of us get caught in a psychological trap, a vicious circle in which the more we strive for happiness, the more it eludes us. Fortunately, there is a way to escape from the 'Happiness Trap' in this updated and expanded second edition which unlocks the secrets to a truly fulfilling life. This empowering book presents the insights and techniques of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), covering more topics and providing more practical tools than ever before. Learn how to clarify your values, develop self-compassion and find true satisfaction with this bigger and better guide to: * Reducing stress and worry * Handling painful thoughts and feelings more effectively * Breaking self-defeating habits * Overcoming insecurity and self-doubt * Building better relationships * Improving performance and finding fulfilment at work The Happiness Trap is for everyone. Whether you're lacking confidence, facing illness, coping with loss, working in a high-stress job, or suffering from anxiety or depression, this book will show you how to build authentic happiness, from the inside out.
Proper nutrition is crucial for maintaining one s general health and well-being; with that in mind, you ll discover a wealth of nutritional information within this newly updated and expanded version of our best-selling Nutrition study guide. Each aspect of nutrition from carbohydrates to vitamins is comprehensively examined, with key definitions, examples, charts, and full-color illustrations provided for additional clarity. "
The first comprehensive examination of the relationship between war and public health, this book documents the public health consequences of war and describes what health professionals can do to minimise these consequences. It explores the effects of war on health, human rights, and the environment. The health and environmental impact of both conventional weapons and weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons) is described in chapters that cover the consequences of their production, testing, maintenance, use, and disposal. Separate chapters cover especially vulnerable populations, such as women, children, and refugees. In-depth descriptions of specific military conflicts, including the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, and wars in Central America provide striking illustrations of the issues covered in other chapters. A series of chapters explores the roles of health professionals and of organisations during war, and in preventing war and its consequences. This revised second edition includes seven new chapters, including one on landmines by the Nobel Prize-winning founding director of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.
Have you struggled to get diagnosed, be believed or get the right treatment for endometriosis? This book is for you. We still don't know what causes endometriosis, and we don't know how to cure it either. What we do know is that it can cause debilitating pain and seriously affect mental health. Endometriosis is not 'just a bad period', it is a whole-body disease which is as common as asthma or diabetes, affecting 1 in 10 women. Yet it is barely covered in medical school, leaving sufferers repeatedly dismissed when trying to access care. Backed with up-to-date scientific knowledge and interviews with endometriosis specialists and those affected by the condition, Jen Moore gives you all the tools you need to:
This beacon of hope is your go-to guide to endometriosis, getting the care you deserve and finally feeling seen and heard.
This forward-looking book provides an in-depth analysis of the major transformations of the right to health in Latin America over the past decades, marked by the turn towards the pharmaceuticalisation of health care. Everaldo Lamprea-Montealegre investigates how health-based litigation has deepened inequalities in the global South, exploring the practices of key actors that are reclaiming the right to health in the region. Taking a deep dive into the health care systems of Brazil and Colombia, Local Maladies, Global Remedies illustrates how transnational pharmaceutical companies are influencing the litigation of health rights, from moulding doctors' preferences for branded drugs to controlling the availability of cheaper generics and bio-similars. The book deploys a wide range of theoretical perspectives and insights from socio-legal literature to map out the practices of stakeholders that are reclaiming the right to health in Latin America. Its concluding remarks propose a set of remedies to help alleviate the challenges faced by global South countries when trying to guarantee their population's right to health, ultimately calling for a major shift of decision-making responsibilities from a local to a global level. The wide-ranging, interdisciplinary scope of this cutting-edge book will benefit scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and students operating at the intersections between socio-legal studies, sociology, health anthropology, public health, globalisation, and human rights.
This book is an account of a study which provided unique information on trends in growth and respiratory health in British children over 25 years, with methodological discussion and other major findings including risk factors for impaired growth, obesity, respiratory disease and the distribution of coronary heart disease factors. The book provides information on trends in growth, height weight for height and subcutaneous arm tissue, and in respiratory health, asthma attacks and related symptoms, in children aged 5 to 11 years, from 1972 to 1994. It provides information on risk factors for impaired growth, obesity and respiratory disease, and on the distribution of risk factors for coronary heart disease in children. The contribution of the National Health and Growth Study extended to topics such as the effects of changes in welfare policy, under-diagnosis and under-treatment of asthma, nocturnal enuresis, disturbed sleep, the impact of passive smoking on the health of children, and the relation of lung function to the child's intra-uterine environment and to passive smoking. The methodological issues in relation to the conduct of the study and analysis of the data are discussed in non-technical language. Each contribution of the study is discussed in relation to current literature, which is fully referenced throughout.
The Pfizer Papers features new reports written by WarRoom/DailyClout research volunteers, which are based on the primary source Pfizer clinical trial documents released under court order and on related medical literature. The book shows in high relief that Pfizer’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial was deeply flawed and that the pharmaceutical company knew by November 2020 that its vaccine was neither safe nor effective. The reports detail vaccine-induced harms throughout the human body, including to the reproductive system; show that women suffer vaccine-related adverse events at a 3:1 ratio; expose that vaccine-induced myocarditis is not rare, mild, or transient; and, shockingly, demonstrate that the mRNA vaccines have created a new category of multi-system, multi-organ disease, which is being called “CoVax Disease.” Despite the fact that Pfizer committed in its own clinical trial protocol to follow the placebo arm of its trial for twenty-four months, Pfizer vaccinated approximately 95 percent of placebo recipients by March 2021, thus eliminating the trial’s control group and making it impossible for comparative safety determinations to be made. Just as importantly, The Pfizer Papers makes it clear that the US Food and Drug Administration knew about the shortfalls of Pfizer’s clinical trial as well as the harms caused by the company’s mRNA COVID vaccine product, thus highlighting the FDA’s abject failure to fulfill its mission to “[protect] the public health by ensuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, and medical devices.” The Pfizer Papers offers an in-depth look at how Big Pharma, the US government, and healthcare entities stand protected behind the broad legal immunity provided by the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) when creating, prescribing, and administering vaccines; and, under that shield of protection, do what is best for their bottom lines rather than for the health and well-being of Americans.
From the physician behind the wildly popular Nutrition Facts website, How Not to Die reveals the groundbreaking scientific evidence behind the only diet that can help prevent and reverse many of the causes of disease-related death. In How Not to Die, Dr. Michael Greger, the internationally-renowned nutrition expert, physician, and founder of NutritionFacts.org, examines the fifteen top causes of premature death in America--heart disease, various cancers, diabetes, Parkinson's, high blood pressure, and more--and explains how nutritional and lifestyle interventions can sometimes trump prescription pills and other pharmaceutical and surgical approaches to help prevent and reverse these diseases, freeing us to live healthier lives. The simple truth is that most doctors are good at treating acute illnesses but bad at preventing chronic disease. The fifteen leading causes of death claim the lives of 1.6 million Americans annually. This doesn't have to be the case. By following Dr. Greger's advice, all of it backed up by strong scientific evidence, you will learn which foods to eat and which lifestyle changes to make to live longer. History of prostate cancer in your family? Put down that glass of milk and add flaxseed to your diet whenever you can. Have high blood pressure? Hibiscus tea can work better than a leading hypertensive drug-and without the side effects. Fighting off liver disease? Drinking coffee can reduce liver inflammation. Battling breast cancer? Consuming soy is associated with prolonged survival. Worried about heart disease (the number 1 killer in the United States)? Switch to a whole-food, plant-based diet, which has been repeatedly shown not just to prevent the disease but often stop it in its tracks. In addition to showing what to eat to help treat the top fifteen causes of death, How Not to Die includes Dr. Greger's Daily Dozen -a checklist of the twelve foods we should consume every day.Full of practical, actionable advice and surprising, cutting edge nutritional science, these doctor's orders are just what we need to live longer, healthier lives. |
![]() ![]() You may like...
Burchell's African Odyssey - Revealing…
Roger Stewart, Marion Whitehead
Hardcover
![]()
|