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Most accounts of health and healthcare in Africa are written by foreigners. African Health Leaders: Making Change and Claiming the Future redresses the balance. Written by Africans, who have themselves led improvements in their own countries, this online resource discusses the creativity, innovation and leadership that has been involved tackling everything from HIV/AIDs, to maternal, and child mortality and neglected tropical diseases. It celebrates their achievements and shows how, over three generations, African health leaders are creating a distinctively African vision of health and health systems. It covers how African Health Leaders are claiming the future - in Africa, but also by sharing their insights and knowledge globally and contributing fully to improving health throughout the world, and illustrates how African leadership can enable foreign agencies and individuals working in Africa to avoid all those misunderstandings and misinterpretations of culture and context which lead to wasted efforts and frustrated hopes. It also addresses the need to tackle weak governance, corrupt systems and low expectations and sets out what Africa needs from the rest of the world in the spirit of global solidarity - not primarily in aid, but through investment, collaboration, partnership and co-development.Less

Behavioral Economics and Public Health is the first title to apply the groundbreaking insights of behavioral economics to the persisting problems of health behaviors and behavior change. In addition to providing a primer on the behavioral economics principles that are most relevant to public health, this title offers details on how these principles can be employed to mitigating the world's greatest health threats, including obesity, smoking, risky sexual behavior, and excessive drinking. With contributions from an international team of scholars from psychology, economics, marketing, public health, and medicine, this title is a trailblazing new approach to the most difficult and important problems of our time. Less

Although urban living has accounted for being the lifestyle for more than half of the global population since 2010, nearly half are still living in a rural context. As pointed out by the United Nations as a backdrop of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (2016–2030), at least 1.8 billion people across the world still consumed faecally contaminated drinking water by 2015, 2.4 million lacked access to basic sanitation services such as toilets or latrines, and nearly 1,000 children died every day of preventable water and sanitation-related diarrhoeal diseases. Rural areas fare far worse: children are about 1.7 times more likely to die before their fifth birthday as those in urban areas. About 16% of the rural population do not use improved drinking water sources, compared to 4% of the urban population. About 50% of people living in rural areas lack improved sanitation facilities, compared to only 18% of people in urban regions. Far too many one-off rural on-site public health knowledge transfer projects fail to deliver long-term results. Theoretical understanding may be strengthened among non-governmental organization (NGO) practitioners and volunteers to support project planning, monitoring, and evaluation. Based on public health theories and illustrated by relevant examples, as well as the insights gained from the long-established CCOUC Ethnic Minority Health Project in China, this book introduces how health, emergency, and disaster preparedness education programmes could be organized in remote rural Asia, which could become a useful reference for organizers and volunteers of rural development projects.Less

Expert public psychiatrists use case studies to share best practice strategies in this clinically oriented introduction to community mental health. Today, the majority of psychiatrists work with people who suffer not only from mental illness but also from poverty, trauma, social isolation, and discrimination. Psychiatrists cannot do this work alone but, instead, are part of teams of behavioral health workers navigating larger health care and social service systems. In an increasingly complex health care environment, mental health clinicians need to master systems-based practice in order to provide optimal care to their patients. The rapid development of public psychiatry training programs is a response to the learning needs of psychiatrists in an evolving system. This book begins with seven foundational principles of public psychiatry—recovery, trauma-informed care, integrated care, cultural humility, harm reduction, systems of care, and financing care—using cases to bring these concepts to life. Then, using a population health framework, cases are used to explore the typical needs of different age groups or vulnerable populations and to illustrate evidence-based/best practices that have been employed to meet these needs. Common to all of the chapters is a focus on the potential of each person, regardless of illness, to achieve personal goals, supported by a clinician who is also an advocate, activist, and leader.Less

This book presents a system of critical appraisal applicable to clinical, epidemiological and public health studies and to many other fields. It assumes no prior knowledge. The methods are relevant to students, practitioners and policymakers. The book shows how to assess if the results of one study or of many studies show a causal effect. The book discusses study designs: randomised and non-randomised trials, cohort studies, case-control studies, and surveys, showing the presentation of results including person-time and survival analysis, and issues in the selection of subjects. The system shows how to describe a study, how to detect and assess selection biases, observation bias, confounding, and chance variation, and how to assess internal validity and external validity (generalisability). Statistical methods are presented assuming no previous knowledge, and showing applications to each study design. Positive features of causation including strength, dose-response, and consistency are discussed. The book shows how to do systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and discusses publication bias. Systems of assessing all evidence are shown, leading to a general method of critical appraisal based on 20 key questions in five groups, which can be applied to any type of study or any topic. Six chapters show the application of this method to randomised trials, prospective and retrospective cohort studies, and case-control studies. An appendix summarises key statistical methods, each with a worked example. Each main chapter has self-test questions, with answers provided.Less

Current Topics in Occupational Epidemiology is an in-depth study of contemporary issues and emerging themes in the field. Divided into seven parts it discusses 'new' occupational diseases such as pneumonia in welders, as well as 'older' diseases including morbidity and mortality among miners. Societal trends have encouraged the application of occupational epidemiological methods to new issues such as the ageing workforce, return to work after illness, and the migration of workers. This resource tackles these issues, as well the extension of epidemiology to surveillance systems, systematic reviews, and economic analyses.Less

It is becoming increasingly important to examine the relationship between the outcomes of a clinical trial and the costs of the medical therapy under study. The results of such analysis can affect reimbursement decisions for new medical technologies, drugs, devices or diagnostics. It can aid companies seeking to make claims about the cost-effectiveness of their product, as well as allowing early consideration of the economic value of therapies which may be important to improving initial adoption decisions. It is also vital for addressing the requirements of regulatory bodies. Economic Evaluation in Clinical Trials provides practical advice on how to conduct cost-effectiveness analyses in controlled trials of medical therapies. This new edition has been extensively rewritten and revised; topics discussed range from design issues such as the types of services that should be measured and price weights, to assessment of quality-adjusted life years. Illustrative materials, case histories and worked examples are included to encourage the reader to apply the methods discussed. Less

Essentials of Environmental Epidemiology for Health Protection guides front-line public health practitioners through the decisions they are likely to face when dealing with environmental health problems, and shows how to integrate relevant aspects of environmental science, communication sciences, toxicology, and environmental epidemiology skills to conduct initial investigations.Less

Assessing and addressing the risks of chemical hazards requires a sound knowledge of toxicology, environmental epidemiology, environmental science, health risk assessment, and public health principles. Essentials of Environmental Public Health Science provides practical guidance on the technical aspects of environmental and public health investigations. Written by leaders in the field, the authors provide practical, expert advice on a range of topics from key concepts and framework for investigation to contaminated land and waste management. Case studies are used to aid learning and understand of the topics discussed. Produced by Public Health England, this resource offers a comprehensive and structured approach to understanding environmental public health issues.Less

Essentials of Toxicology for Health Protection is ideal as both a course resource for students and a reference for field professionals involved in responding to chemical incidents and local environmental concerns. Produced by Health Protection England, it offers a comprehensive and structured approach to dealing with toxicological problems worldwide. It covers both the basics of toxicology and its application to issues of topical concern such as contaminated land, food additives, and water and air pollution. Each chapter is composed by an expert in the field, making this an essential resource for all professionals in environmental public health, including: health protection consultants, specialists and trainees; public health practitioners; environmental health practitioners; environmental scientists; and staff of the emergency services, the water and waste industries, and other industrial and regulatory bodies.Less

The emergence of the discipline of global mental health as one of the most dynamic fields of global health underscores the need for this resource, which covers two major aspects of the field: its scientific foundations and its practice. It opens with an original account charting the history of the field from antiquity to its most recent developments. The language and content is geared towards a wide audience of practitioners and students of global mental health, including those who do not have any previous training in a clinical mental health specialty. Edited by four of the field's most widely acknowledged champions, this resource features 20 chapters authored by over 30 global leaders of the field from diverse institutions and countries, is aimed to be the definitive text of this dynamic new discipline.Less

This established and successful resource continues to be essential reading for all health professionals who work with children, whether in the community or at the receiving end of referrals. It also provides vital background knowledge for those charged with the responsibility of planning, commissioning and monitoring alongside the most up to date evidence in a rapidly changing field.Less

Health Measurement Scales is the ultimate online guide to developing and validating measurement scales that are to be used in the health sciences. It covers how the individual items are developed; various biases that can affect responses (e.g. social desirability, yea-saying, framing); various response options; how to select the best items in the set; how to combine them into a scale; and finally how to determine the reliability and validity of the scale. It concludes with a discussion of ethical issues that may be encountered, and guidelines for reporting the results of the scale development process. Appendices include a comprehensive guide to finding existing scales, and a brief introduction to exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis.Less

This online resource is a thorough examination of the field, advancing clear proposals for its development and future, as well as the theoretical background, historical context, or the challenges that health promotion faces today. With the core belief that health promotion has a vital contribution to make to the health of populations, it is packed with the knowledge and tools necessary to help people contribute in real and practical ways to health promotion. Its timely examination of the strategies and legislation of successive governments in the UK informs the ongoing debate on heath policy. The importance of health education is explored, including a look at the new possibilities that technological developments will bring. It provides a wealth of examples and cases studies to illustrate the ethical principles underlying health promotion, and to the examination of the concepts of environmental and lifestyle determinants of health.Less

The majority of errors, litigation, and complaints in the health service are due to 'human factors', yet the term is still not widely understood and is sometimes used interchangeably to refer to team training or communication skills. Although it includes these, the definition of 'human factor' goes beyond to look at systems, environmental influences, and interactions with equipment, in addition to self-awareness and human interaction. All of these aspects are captured in Human Factors in Healthcare and are built into a new framework: the SHEEP model, which breaks down into five key areas: Systems, Human Interaction, Environment, Equipment, and Personal, providing a structured way to focus on adopting 'safety-positive' behaviours. Through the use of relevant real world healthcare examples and exercises, this resource encourages interaction and thinking, as well as illustrating how mistakes can be avoided. It also sets out ways on how to improve the experience of patients and staff across healthcare, in particular focusing on how to improve patient safety. Less

Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is a policy-support instrument and approach that seeks to assess the health impacts of projects, programmes and policies on population health. The ultimate goal of HIA is to systematically predict health impacts and subsequently inform the intersectoral decision- and policy-making processes of these impacts. This resource examines how the process of integrating HIA with policy can take place. Introductory chapters outline the HIA process and provide a conceptual foundation for the book. Then, drawing from experiences of HIA practice and research globally, country-specific experiences are presented to examine HIA's relationship with the policy process. Throughout, checklists and learning points are provided to assist in the understanding of the concepts and examples discussed.Less

Integrative Environmental Medicine looks at the history and changing landscape of environmental issues in the United States, including water supply, air quality, extensive plastic pollution, harmful chemicals in cleaning and personal care products, radiofrequency radiation, food additives, pesticides, and medications. The unique properties of compounds such as endocrine-disrupting chemicals are explored along with their ability to disturb the body’s normal signaling pathways, genetic profile, and gut microbiome. Resulting molecular derangements promote thyroid and other autoimmune diseases, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and influence developmental problems in children. Analysis of current research identifies ways to reduce exposures and health risks, improve regulations and appropriate testing for chemicals, remediate environmental pollution, and design healthier products for the future. Best practices are considered for clinicians to ascertain exposure history, test for toxins, and teach patients how to avoid harmful exposures. Patients will be prepared and empowered with information about healthier food choices and cooking practices, appropriate supplement use, water filtration, cleaning and personal care product selection, improved sleep, stress reduction, sauna, fasting, chelation, safe cell phone use, and other means of reducing harmful environmental exposures. Solutions at every level require interdisciplinary collaboration to advance assessment, design, stewardship, and regulation of chemicals to promote environmental and human health.Less

As the preventable disease and economic burden continues to mount for the United States and the world, it is becoming apparent that embracing prevention strategies is essential. Simply continuing on the same course and infrastructure will not suffice. The future we will leave our children is unsustainable without change. Amid all the partisan political chaos, integrative preventive medicine (IPM) practices are strongly entering the public consciousness, as many are dissatisfied with their traditional health (sick) care delivery systems and the scientific validity of IPM is increasing rapidly. This IPM textbook brings together the science of IPM so that health practitioners have a ready reference containing practices that can delay or prevent disease, decrease cost of care. and improve the quality of life. It is divided into three sections, “Public Health and Evolving Science in IPM,” “Multidisciplinary Nature of IPM.” and “The IPM Approach of Selected Clinical Problems,” providing a continuum of IPM from basic science to clinical science to practical application.Less

This online resource provides a concise review of preventive medicine and public health topics that are relevant to any practitioner in preventive medicine, occupational medicine, internal medicine, or aerospace medicine needing a comprehensive review of the topics in preventive medicine and public health. It will also serve as an ideal review before preventive medicine board examinations for candidates taking them for the first time and those taking them for recertification.Less