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Epidemiology: "The study of the occurrence and distribution of health-related states or events in specified populations, including the study of the determinants influencing such states, and the application of this knowledge to control the health problems."
--Porta, M. (2008). A dictionary of epidemiology Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press.
Adolescence, Affect and Health (PLE: Emotion)
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Originally published in 1999, this title covers the entire empirical cycle in adolescent health research and education. It describes in depth the development and evaluation of a health education programme designed to enhance everyday health-related behaviours in an adolescent population, and offers comprehensive reviews of developmental theories of adolescence, ethical and theoretical issues in adolescent health education, and the major theories used in adolescent health research. The research presented here led to the development and testing of a new theory - the Theory of Salient Meanings of Behaviour - which departed from the cognitive theories that had thus far dominated adolescent health education and research, but which had often proved inadequate in describing and predicting adolescent health-related behaviour. The inception, growth, testing, and field testing of this new theory are traced here. The book is designed to appeal to both theoretical and applied scientists in the field of adolescent development, adolescent health and health education. A clear research methodology is set out for the complementary use of a wide range of qualitative and quantitative research methods.
Advances in Communication Research to Reduce Childhood Obesity
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Rates of childhood obesity are alarmingly high and increasing each year. Studies have shown that obese children are more likely to become obese adults and are likely to suffer with numerous health consequences like coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, and Type II diabetes, among others. Studies also indicate that television viewing and exposure to advertising for food products influences children's attitudes toward, food preferences and food purchase requests for foods with low nutritional value. It is important to better understand the role of media in childhood obesity and to learn how media may be used to address this issue in a positive way.This book focuses on communication and media research that can have an impact on reducing childhood obesity. Emphasis is placed on topics related to how the media communicate health-related messages about food, nutrition and diet that influence childhood obesity. Particular emphasis is on the new media, given the fact that media now have more central roles in socializing today's children and youth than ever before. Advertising and marketing messages reach young consumers through a variety of vehicles - broadcast and cable television, radio, magazines, computers through the Internet, music, cell phones - and in many different venues - homes, schools, child-care settings, grocery stores, shopping malls, theaters, sporting events, and even airports. In addition, given the disparity in obesity rates between children of color and the general population, special attention is given to research on media targeting these populations.
Applied Demography and Public Health
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This book combines the disciplines of applied demography and public health by describing how applied demographic techniques can be used to help address public health issues. Besides addressing the impact of aging on health and health-related expenditure, cause-specific mortality, and maternal health and morbidity, the book provides several chapters on special analysis and methodological issues. The chapters provide a number of resources and tools that can be used in conducting research aimed at promoting public health. These resources include information on a variety of health research datasets, different statistical methodologies for analyzing health-related data and developing concepts related to health status, methodologies for forecasting or projecting disease incidences and associated costs, and discussions of demographic concepts used to measure population health status.
Cardiovascular Disease in Racial and Ethnic Minorities
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Cardiovascular heart disease mortality in African Americans is the highest of all major racial/ethnic subpopulations in the United States. Examining race and ethnicity, Cardiovascular Disease in Racial and Ethnic Minorities will reveal that there are unacceptable healthcare disparities in risk factor prevalence, disease states, and cardiovascular outcomes in the United States. Written by a team of experts, Cardiovascular Disease in Racial and Ethnic Minorities examines to what degree biomedical and scientific literature can clarify the impact of genetic variation versus environment as related to cardiovascular disease. Chapters illustrate the magnitude of cardiovascular and metabolic disparities and the effect of environment on diseases.
Determinants of Minority Mental Health and Wellness
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The United States is experiencing a dramatic shift in demographics, with minorities comprising a rapidly growing proportion of the population. It is anticipated that this will likely lead to substantial changes in previously established values, needs, and priorities of the population, including health and mental health for individuals, families, and society at large. This volume focuses on determinants of minority mental health and wellness. This emphasis necessarily raises the question of just who is a minority and how is minority to be defined. The term has been defined in any number of ways. Wirth (1945, p. 347) offered one of the earliest definitions of minority: We may define a minority as a group of people who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from the others in the society in which they live for differential and unequal treatment, and who therefore regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination. The existence of a minority in a society implies the existence of a corresponding dominant group enjoying higher social status and greater privileges.
Epidemiology and the People's Health
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Epidemiology is often referred to as the science of public health. However, unlike other major sciences, its theoretical foundations are rarely articulated. While the idea of epidemiologic theory may seem dry and arcane, it is at its core about explaining the people's health. It is about lifeand death. It is about biology and society. It is about ecology and the economy. It is about how myriad aspects of people's lives - involving work, dignity, desire, love, play, conflict, discrimination, and injustice - become literally incorporated into our bodies and manifest in our health status,individually and collectively. And it is about essential knowledge critical for improving the people's health and minimizing inequitable burdens of disease, disability, and death.Woven from a vast array of schools of thought, including those in the natural, social, and biomedical sciences, epidemiologic theory is a rich tapestry whose time for analysis is long overdue. By tracing its history and contours from ancient societies on through the development of - and debateswithin - contemporary epidemiology worldwide, Dr. Krieger shows how epidemiologic theory has long shaped epidemiologic practice, knowledge, and the politics of public health. Outlining an ecosocial theory of disease distribution that situates both population health and epidemiologic theory insocietal and ecologic context, she offers a more holistic picture of how we embody the human experience. This concise, conceptually rich, and accessible book is a rallying cry for a return to the study and discussion of epidemiologic theory: what it is, why it matters, how it has changed over time, and its implications for improving population health and promoting health equity. It should be requiredreading for all epidemiologists, or anyone involved in the study of human health and well-being.
Global Health in the 21st Century
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Perhaps no other public policy issue has greater potential to affect some of the most significant economic, political, social, and ethical changes of the 21st century than global health. In this book, a scholar/physician team authors a comprehensive introduction to global health issues and emphasises the potential of public health intervention to improve the longevity and quality of human life across the globe. The authors have lived and worked in Africa as well as in medically underserved areas of the United States, so they write with firsthand experience and authority. Using themes of interconnectedness, globalisation, and united concern from citizens, this book encourages readers to consider the role that they might play as engaged citizens in taking on the global public health challenges of the 21st century including everything from AIDs and flu to tobacco, obesity, and threats in conflict zones.
The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People
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At a time when lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals--often referred to under the umbrella acronym LGBT--are becoming more visible in society and more socially acknowledged, clinicians and researchers are faced with incomplete information about their health status. While LGBT populations often are combined as a single entity for research and advocacy purposes, each is a distinct population group with its own specific health needs. Furthermore, the experiences of LGBT individuals are not uniform and are shaped by factors of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographical location, and age, any of which can have an effect on health-related concerns and needs. The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People assesses the state of science on the health status of LGBT populations, identifies research gaps and opportunities, and outlines a research agenda for the National Institute of Health. The report examines the health status of these populations in three life stages: childhood and adolescence, early/middle adulthood, and later adulthood. At each life stage, the committee studied mental health, physical health, risks and protective factors, health services, and contextual influences. To advance understanding of the health needs of all LGBT individuals, the report finds that researchers need more data about the demographics of these populations, improved methods for collecting and analyzing data, and an increased participation of sexual and gender minorities in research. The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People is a valuable resource for policymakers, federal agencies including the National Institute of Health (NIH), LGBT advocacy groups, clinicians, and service providers.
Macrosocial Determinants of Population Health
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This book explores social factors such as culture, mass media, political systems, and migration that influence public health while systematically considering how we may best study these factors and use our knowledge from this study to guide public health interventions. Throughout, contributors emphasize the potential of population strategies to influence traditional risk factors associated with health and disease. Each section ends with Galea's integrative chapters, bringing the observations and conclusions from the chapters into clear, usable focus.
Speaking of Health
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We are what we eat. That old expression seems particularly poignant every time we have our blood drawn for a routine physical to check our cholesterol levels. And, it's not just what we eat that affects our health. Whole ranges of behaviors ultimately make a difference in how we feel and how we maintain our health. Lifestyle choices have enormous impact on our health and well being. But, how do we communicate the language of good health so that it is uniformly received-and accepted-by people from different cultures and backgrounds? Take, for example, the case of a 66 year old Latina. She has been told by her doctor that she should have a mammogram. But her sense of fatalism tells her that it is better not to know if anything is wrong. To know that something is wrong will cause her distress and this may well lead to even more health problems. Before she leaves her doctor's office she has decided not to have a mammogram-that is until her doctor points out that having a mammogram is a way to take care of herself so that she can continue to take care of her family. In this way, the decision to have a mammogram feels like a positive step. Public health communicators and health professionals face dilemmas like this every day. Speaking of Health looks at the challenges of delivering important messages to different audiences. Using case studies in the areas of diabetes, mammography, and mass communication campaigns, it examines the ways in which messages must be adapted to the unique informational needs of their audiences if they are to have any real impact. Speaking of Health looks at basic theories of communication and behavior change and focuses on where they apply and where they don't. By suggesting creative strategies and guidelines for speaking to diverse audiences now and in the future, the Institute of Medicine seeks to take health communication into the 21st century. In an age where we are inundated by multiple messages every day, this book will be a critical tool for all who are interested in communicating with diverse communities about health issues.
Introduction to Global Health
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New Edition Available 4/1/2013 With a unique emphasis on possible solutions to world health problems, this book addresses all the key issues of global health at a level basic enough that students from a variety of majors can understand the material. It will give the reader:An understanding of biological and social aspects of major global health issues, especially in the areas of infectious disease, nutrition, and environmental health. A knowledge of population groups that are at increased risk of poor health and familiarity with policies and programs designed to reduce health inequalities. A familiarity with global health vocabulary, the basic methods used to assess global health, and the tools to locate and understand additional global health information. The author has included over 170 tables and figures to illustrate important concepts as well as a supplemental chapter on how to read journal articles. The text is also accompanied by downloadable instructor resources including PowerPoint slides, a TestBank, and an instructor's manual with suggested discussion questions and sample syllabi.
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