The Political Determinants of Health

The Political Determinants of Health PDF Author: Daniel E. Dawes
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
ISBN: 1421437899
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
How do policy and politics influence the social conditions that generate health outcomes? Reduced life expectancy, worsening health outcomes, health inequity, and declining health care options—these are now realities for most Americans. However, in a country of more than 325 million people, addressing everyone's issues is challenging. How can we effect beneficial change for everyone so we all can thrive? What is the great equalizer? In this book, Daniel E. Dawes argues that political determinants of health create the social drivers—including poor environmental conditions, inadequate transportation, unsafe neighborhoods, and lack of healthy food options—that affect all other dynamics of health. By understanding these determinants, their origins, and their impact on the equitable distribution of opportunities and resources, we will be better equipped to develop and implement actionable solutions to close the health gap. Dawes draws on his firsthand experience helping to shape major federal policies, including the Affordable Care Act, to describe the history of efforts to address the political determinants that have resulted in health inequities. Taking us further upstream to the underlying source of the causes of inequities, Dawes examines the political decisions that lead to our social conditions, makes the social determinants of health more accessible, and provides a playbook for how we can address them effectively. A thought-provoking and evocative account that considers both the policies we think of as "health policy" and those that we don't, The Political Determinants of Health provides a novel, multidisciplinary framework for addressing the systemic barriers preventing the United States from becoming the healthiest nation in the world.

The Political Determinants of Health

The Political Determinants of Health PDF Author: Daniel E. Dawes
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
ISBN: 1421437899
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 241

Get Book Here

Book Description
How do policy and politics influence the social conditions that generate health outcomes? Reduced life expectancy, worsening health outcomes, health inequity, and declining health care options—these are now realities for most Americans. However, in a country of more than 325 million people, addressing everyone's issues is challenging. How can we effect beneficial change for everyone so we all can thrive? What is the great equalizer? In this book, Daniel E. Dawes argues that political determinants of health create the social drivers—including poor environmental conditions, inadequate transportation, unsafe neighborhoods, and lack of healthy food options—that affect all other dynamics of health. By understanding these determinants, their origins, and their impact on the equitable distribution of opportunities and resources, we will be better equipped to develop and implement actionable solutions to close the health gap. Dawes draws on his firsthand experience helping to shape major federal policies, including the Affordable Care Act, to describe the history of efforts to address the political determinants that have resulted in health inequities. Taking us further upstream to the underlying source of the causes of inequities, Dawes examines the political decisions that lead to our social conditions, makes the social determinants of health more accessible, and provides a playbook for how we can address them effectively. A thought-provoking and evocative account that considers both the policies we think of as "health policy" and those that we don't, The Political Determinants of Health provides a novel, multidisciplinary framework for addressing the systemic barriers preventing the United States from becoming the healthiest nation in the world.

Political Determinants of Health in Australia

Political Determinants of Health in Australia PDF Author: Marguerite C. Sendall
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1003845274
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 198

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Book Description
Exposing the explicit and implicit relationships between politics, political decisions, and public policy within a planetary perspective, this book focuses on the importance of the political environment as a determinant of population health outcomes. Political Determinants of Health in Australia brings together a team of experts in public health, health policy and planetary health in Australia to examine the political factors that determine population health outcomes. It takes a student-centred approach, explaining complex concepts in an interactive, engaging, and thought-provoking way within a logical, easy to navigate structure. Each chapter takes on key contemporary public health issues, such as family, work, diversity, housing, energy, education, food, and waste, examining it within the context of politics, policy, and health outcomes from a planetary perspective. There is a comprehensive suite of learning activities in each chapter, catering to diverse learning styles and prior knowledge to encourage critical thinking. An essential text for students of public health, health promotion, and health policy.

Social Determinants of Health

Social Determinants of Health PDF Author: Richard G. Wilkinson
Publisher: World Health Organization
ISBN: 9289013710
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 34

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Book Description
Poorer people live shorter lives and suffer higher levels of ill health than the more affluent in society, and this disparity highlights the sensitivity of human health to socio-economic factors. This booklet examines this social gradient in health and explains how psychological and social influences affect physical health and longevity. It also considers the role of public policy in promoting a social environment that is more conducive to better health. Topics discussed include: stress, early childhood health, social exclusion, work, unemployment and job insecurity, social support networks, the effects of alcohol and other drug addictions, food and nutrition, and healthier transport systems.

Closing the Gap in a Generation

Closing the Gap in a Generation PDF Author: WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health
Publisher: World Health Organization
ISBN: 9241563702
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
Social justice is a matter of life and death. It affects the way people live, their consequent chance of illness, and their risk of premature death. We watch in wonder as life expectancy and good health continue to increase in parts of the world and in alarm as they fail to improve in others.

Social Determinants of Indigenous Health

Social Determinants of Indigenous Health PDF Author: Bronwyn Carson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000247260
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
The opportunities and comfortable lifestyle available to most Australians have been denied to generations of Indigenous people. As a result some of Australia's original inhabitants suffer from what has been described as 'Fourth World' standards of health. This is out of place in a country that prides itself on egalitarianism and a fair go for all. Shifting the focus from individual behaviour, to the social and political circumstances that influence people's lives and ultimately their health, helps us to understand the origins of poor health. It can also guide action to bring about change. Social Determinants of Indigenous Health offers a systematic overview of the relationship between the social and political environment and health. Highly respected contributors from around Australia examine the long-term health impacts of the Indigenous experience of dispossession, colonial rule and racism. They also explore the role of factors such as poverty, class, community and social capital, education, employment and housing. They scrutinise the social dynamics of making policy for Indigenous Australians, and the interrelation between human rights and health. Finally, they outline a framework for effective health interventions, which take social factors into consideration. This is a groundbreaking work, developed in consultation with Indigenous health professionals and researchers. It is essential reading for anyone working in Indigenous health.

Governance for Health in the 21st Century

Governance for Health in the 21st Century PDF Author: Ilona Kickbusch
Publisher: World Health Organization
ISBN: 9789289002745
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A range of collaborative governance mechanisms has developed in many policy arenas in the past decade. The study on governance for health in the 21st century tracks governance innovations that have been introduced to address priority determinants of health and summarizes them as five strategic approaches to smart governance for health. The study relates the emergence of joint action of the health sector and non-health sectors, of public and private actors and of citizens to achieve seminal changes in 21st-century societies. They include a new understanding of health and well-being as key features of what constitutes a successful society and vibrant economy and the higher value placed on equity and participation. The study further describes the type of structures and mechanisms that enable collaboration and outlines the new role that health ministers and ministries and public health agencies need to adopt in such a challenging policy environment.

Introduction to Public Health

Introduction to Public Health PDF Author: Elizabeth Parker
Publisher: Elsevier Health Sciences
ISBN: 0729587347
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
Introduction to Public Health is a foundation, introductory text addressing the principles and practice of public health. Written from a multidisciplinary perspective, the text defines the discipline of public health, the nature and scope of public health activity and the challenges that face public health in the 21st century. Designed for undergraduate health science and nursing students, the text helps readers with their understanding of the nature and scope of public health and the challenges facing the field into the future. Positions public health concepts within an Australian and New Zealand context Chapter case studies and examples to help illustrate key points Chapter reflection and review questions to assist readers with their application to practise Logical structure enabling those new to public health to grasp complex concepts and apply to current health practice New—A suite of video interviews with leading public health experts who each share a broad contextual overview of public health now and into the future Additional resources on Evolve eBook on VitalSource Instructor Resources Image Bank (tables and figures from the book) Case studies Video interviews Students Resources Student Quiz

The Social Determinants of Mental Health

The Social Determinants of Mental Health PDF Author: Michael T. Compton
Publisher: American Psychiatric Pub
ISBN: 1585625175
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
The Social Determinants of Mental Health aims to fill the gap that exists in the psychiatric, scholarly, and policy-related literature on the social determinants of mental health: those factors stemming from where we learn, play, live, work, and age that impact our overall mental health and well-being. The editors and an impressive roster of chapter authors from diverse scholarly backgrounds provide detailed information on topics such as discrimination and social exclusion; adverse early life experiences; poor education; unemployment, underemployment, and job insecurity; income inequality, poverty, and neighborhood deprivation; food insecurity; poor housing quality and housing instability; adverse features of the built environment; and poor access to mental health care. This thought-provoking book offers many beneficial features for clinicians and public health professionals: Clinical vignettes are included, designed to make the content accessible to readers who are primarily clinicians and also to demonstrate the practical, individual-level applicability of the subject matter for those who typically work at the public health, population, and/or policy level. Policy implications are discussed throughout, designed to make the content accessible to readers who work primarily at the public health or population level and also to demonstrate the policy relevance of the subject matter for those who typically work at the clinical level. All chapters include five to six key points that focus on the most important content, helping to both prepare the reader with a brief overview of the chapter's main points and reinforce the "take-away" messages afterward. In addition to the main body of the book, which focuses on selected individual social determinants of mental health, the volume includes an in-depth overview that summarizes the editors' and their colleagues' conceptualization, as well as a final chapter coauthored by Dr. David Satcher, 16th Surgeon General of the United States, that serves as a "Call to Action," offering specific actions that can be taken by both clinicians and policymakers to address the social determinants of mental health. The editors have succeeded in the difficult task of balancing the individual/clinical/patient perspective and the population/public health/community point of view, while underscoring the need for both groups to work in a unified way to address the inequities in twenty-first century America. The Social Determinants of Mental Health gives readers the tools to understand and act to improve mental health and reduce risk for mental illnesses for individuals and communities. Students preparing for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) will also benefit from this book, as the MCAT in 2015 will test applicants' knowledge of social determinants of health. The social determinants of mental health are not distinct from the social determinants of physical health, although they deserve special emphasis given the prevalence and burden of poor mental health.

Collaborative capacity development to complement stroke rehabilitation in Africa

Collaborative capacity development to complement stroke rehabilitation in Africa PDF Author: Quinette Louw
Publisher: AOSIS
ISBN: 1928523862
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 536

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Book Description
This scholarly book focuses on stroke in Africa. Stroke is a leading cause of disability among adults of all ages, contributing significantly to health care costs related to long term implications, particularly if rehabilitation is sub-optimal. Given the burden of stroke in Africa, there is a need for a book that focuses on functioning African stroke survivors and the implications for rehabilitation within the African context. In addition, there is a need to progress with contextualised, person-centred, evidence-based guidance for the rehabilitation of people with stroke in Africa, thereby enabling them to lead socially and economically meaningful lives. The research incorporated in the book used a range of primary and secondary methodological approaches (scoping reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, descriptive studies, surveys, health economics, and clinical practice guideline methodology) to shed new insights into African-centred issues and strategies to optimise function post-stroke.

WHO Housing and Health Guidelines

WHO Housing and Health Guidelines PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789241550376
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 149

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Book Description
Improved housing conditions can save lives, prevent disease, increase quality of life, reduce poverty, and help mitigate climate change. Housing is becoming increasingly important to health in light of urban growth, ageing populations and climate change. The WHO Housing and health guidelines bring together the most recent evidence to provide practical recommendations to reduce the health burden due to unsafe and substandard housing. Based on newly commissioned systematic reviews, the guidelines provide recommendations relevant to inadequate living space (crowding), low and high indoor temperatures, injury hazards in the home, and accessibility of housing for people with functional impairments. In addition, the guidelines identify and summarize existing WHO guidelines and recommendations related to housing, with respect to water quality, air quality, neighbourhood noise, asbestos, lead, tobacco smoke and radon. The guidelines take a comprehensive, intersectoral perspective on the issue of housing and health and highlight co-benefits of interventions addressing several risk factors at the same time. The WHO Housing and health guidelines aim at informing housing policies and regulations at the national, regional and local level and are further relevant in the daily activities of implementing actors who are directly involved in the construction, maintenance and demolition of housing in ways that influence human health and safety. The guidelines therefore emphasize the importance of collaboration between the health and other sectors and joint efforts across all government levels to promote healthy housing. The guidelines' implementation at country-level will in particular contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals on health (SDG 3) and sustainable cities (SDG 11). WHO will support Member States in adapting the guidelines to national contexts and priorities to ensure safe and healthy housing for all.