"A classic ... required reading for every student in medicine and public health."* "This monograph, which describes in detail the methodology and the findings of a major longitudinal population health study, represents a significant contribution to the social epidemiology of health and illness. The authors document the impact of health habits and social relationships on health outcomes, issues at the forefront of public health in the United States." --*Leon Eisenberg, Harvard Medical School
The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.
In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.
Want to learn more about organic food? Curious about alternative power sources? Want to do your part to help save the environment? The way that you live, work, travel, eat, drink, and dress affects the earth and the environment-and this concise, eye-opening book gives you all the tools you need to live a "green" lifestyle. The Everything Green Living Book shows you how to: Get involved in Earth Day through grassroots efforts or volunteering; Build or buy a green house; Use and select nontoxic cleaning supplies; Reap the benefits of organic foods; Utilize nonpollutant modes of transportation; Recycle more efficiently and find all-natural clothing and personal care items; Educate your children on the green lifestyle. This Earth-conscious manual is your introduction to the green lifestyle-so you can help the Earth prosper for another 4.5 billion years!
How do communities protect and improve the health of their populations? Health care is part of the answer but so are environmental protections, social and educational services, adequate nutrition, and a host of other activities. With concern over funding constraints, making sure such activities are efficient and effective is becoming a high priority. Improving Health in the Community explains how population-based performance monitoring programs can help communities point their efforts in the right direction. Within a broad definition of community health, the committee addresses factors surrounding the implementation of performance monitoring and explores the "why" and "how to" of establishing mechanisms to monitor the performance of those who can influence community health. The book offers a policy framework, applies a multidimensional model of the determinants of health, and provides sets of prototype performance indicators for specific health issues. Improving Health in the Community presents an attainable vision of a process that can achieve community-wide health benefits.
This Workbook serves as the companion guide to the bestselling book Dr. A's Habits of Health, a comprehensive manual designed to give you control of your daily habits and behaviors in order to create a life of vibrancy and optimal health. Living a Longer, Healthier Life is a critical piece of self-actualization. It's the difference between just reading about creating health and actually doing it. "Millions of Americans are struggling to get healthy but just don't know how. The Habits of Health and this guidebook are groundbreaking advances toward overcoming this pressing problemùthe prescription for creating health in your life. Dr. Andersen's simple step-by-step plan will teach, guide, and empower you to lose weight safely and quickly, learn how to maintain a healthy weight, and achieve optimal health for life."-Mark Nelson, MD, FACC, MPH "Who doesn't want to be healthy? Like many of us today, I was living with a set of pop-culture concepts about weight loss and health. Dr. A's Habits of Health and Living a Longer, Healthier Life are packed with research and backed by experience, giving you a predictable system that will help you get healthy for life. It works! I've lost and kept off fifty pounds, thanks to Dr A. This guide will help you live healthy on-purpose."-Kevin W McCarthy Author, The On-Purpose Person
