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This resource takes a critical insider's look at commonly held views about the diagnosis and management of depression, and argues that our belief in depression as a medical condition is based on commercial, professional, organisational and cultural factors, which all combine to sustain the popularity of depression as a concept, which is based more on our values than on science.Less

Breast cancer affects 1 in 10 women and the majority of UK women will attend a breast clinic at least once during their lives. The patient's journey through assessment and management is one that involves a huge range of healthcare professionals, in which the truly multidisciplinary management style required has previously been only sparsely addressed. This resource provides a practical guide on how to investigate and manage common breast problems for all members of the breast disease team, and covers the whole of the patient journey from assessment through to surgery and adjuvant treatments, giving a practical overview of the whole process of care. It includes the latest evidence, guidance and references on breast disease, together with discussions on current controversies in the field including the management of margins, management of the axilla and the evidence surrounding the NHS Breast Screening Programme. To give practical advice on the realities of being part of a breast care team, this resource also has several chapters devoted to leadership and management including MDT requirements, audit and research, avoiding complaints and the organisation of a breast unit.Less

Compassion is a complex and multifaceted concept that has been explored from a range of cultural, philosophical, theological, and sociological perspectives. It can be considered a prerequisite for optimal health care, an expectation of the general public from their health care system, and a specific approach to care which should underpin the work of health care professionals globally. Given the nature of life-limiting illness and the challenges that shifting goals of care impose, the place of compassion as the underlying construct governing health care decisions would seem paramount. Yet there is an increasing concern-particularly in the UK media and recent reviews of clinical practices around end-of-life care-suggesting that somehow compassion has been lost as a governing principle of care giving. The reasons for this are not always clear, but increased clinical intervention, the over-professionalization of care, and lack of formal teaching on the topic of compassion are all indicated. Given the complex nature of care in advanced illness and life-limiting disease, the place of compassion within palliative and end-of-life care is worthy of further exploration to try to understand this phenomenon better. This book asks an international panel of expert palliative care practitioners to consider these issues for themselves and the discipline as we move into the 21st century. Through a series of interviews with some of the world’s experts in the field, the meaning, purpose, and outcome of providing compassionate care for palliative and end-of-life care is explored and critiqued. A critical commentary of themes raised by each contributor is discussed relative to the broader literature around the topic, and further reading and learning resources indicated for practitioners, educators, and students to follow up.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

The majority of people who experience incarceration have a history of harmful alcohol, tobacco, and/or illicit drug use. Some discontinue use of these substances while in custody. Others—notably including some people who inject drugs—continue to use drugs in prison, typically in avoidably high-risk circumstances. Rapid relapse to risky substance use after release from prison is common and is associated with a range of health and social problems, and increased risk of both death and reincarceration. Effective measures to reduce the incarceration of people who use drugs, and to minimize drug-related harms both in prison and after release from custody, are urgently required. However, the evidence base to inform effective responses remains weak, and implementation of evidence-based responses remains patchy. Drawing on the expertise of 40 authors from 10 countries, this book reviews what is known about the epidemiology of substance use in people who experience incarceration. It presents what is known about the health, social, and criminal justice consequences of harmful substance use in this population and discusses key policy reforms that have the potential to achieve better health outcomes. In addition to reviewing what is known, the book identifies key knowledge gaps and makes recommendations for future research.Less

Echocardiography has become the most requested imaging modalities. It is the first line imaging in the diagnostic work-up and monitoring of most cardiac diseases. Echocardiography is harmless and combines low-cost high technology with easy accessibility. The advent of the new modalities such as harmonic imaging, tissue Doppler imaging, speckle tracking, real time 3-dimensional imaging, ad contrast cavity enhancement have also contributed to expand the role of echocardiography. It provides rapid quantitative information about cardiac structure and function, valvular motion, vascular system and haemodynamics at bedside. This imaging technique is considered an extension of the physical examination. Proper technical skills and knowledge are required for the optimal application of echocardiography. Disease-focused and succinct, the present handbook covers the information needed to perform and interpret echocardiogramsaccurately, including how to set up the echomachine to optimize an examination and how to perform echocardiographic disease assessment, and the clinical indicators, procedures, and contraindications. Sections include assessment of the left ventricular systolic dysfunction and diastolic function, discussion on ischaemic heart disease, heart valve disease, cardiomyopathies, pericardial disease, congenital heart disease, and many other aspects of echocardiology. Many talented people have contributed to the present handbook, which represents the pocket echocardiography book flagship of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging. This book is intended principally as a clinical guide to the broad field of echocardiography at a glance.Less

Echocardiography uses ultrasound waves to generate images of cardiovascular structures and to display information regarding the blood flow through these structures. Knowledge of basic ultrasound principles and current technology is essential for image interpretation and for optimal use of equipment during image acquisition and post-processing. This fully updated second edition of the official textbook of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) serves the educational requirements of cardiologists and all clinical medical professionals, underpinning the structural training in accordance with the EACVI goals and reflecting the core European syllabus throughout.Less

While acknowledging that cardiovascular disease prevention efforts must be complemented by societal and community-based strategies, this handbook focuses on practical strategies that can be used in clinical settings. Concise and easily accessible, it guides readers through the patient and family pathway—from patient identification, recruitment of the patient and family, assessing lifestyle and risk factors, to managing lifestyle change, reducing risk factors, and compliance with cardioprotective drug therapies. Information on how to deliver a health promotion workshop programme and run a supervised exercise programme is also included. Packed with checklists and diagrams, such as risk estimation charts, helps health workers contribute in real and practical ways to the prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Complementing the Joint European Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention and in line with recommendations from the European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation, it is an invaluable source of tools and skills to assist with the delivery of effective cardiovascular disease prevention.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

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

One of the most distressing features of a healthcare providers practice is that of patient nonadherence. Adherence refers to an active, voluntary, collaborative involvement of the patient in a mutually acceptable course of behavior to produce a desired preventative or therapeutic result. Most of the research in the area of medical adherence has been focused on medication adherence or increasing the likelihood that a patient will take their medications as prescribed by their physician. Adherence also has a broader application with regards to patient behaviors that can either support or undermine a positive response to prescribed therapies.In the field of pain medicine there are a number of evidence-based interventions that can improve an individual’s pain, mood and functionality, but this depends highly on the patient adhering to the prescribed treatment regimens.This book will provide a practically oriented guide to understanding the conceptual models of adherence and non-adherence and methods to improve adherence, to both pharmacotherapy and psychosocial pain management strategies. Topics include the use of biometrics to measure and promote adherence, employing novel psychosocial techniques to improve adherence to pain management and healthy lifestyle interventions and the ethical considerations of patient and clinician nonadherence.Less

This resource explores the many dimensions of the alleged industrialization of general practice as it has occurred to others in the past, and analyses the origins of the current wave of reform in general practice. It analyses why industrialization is being pursued as a government strategy, and explores its benefits and dangers. It concludes that the medical profession has reasons for being perturbed by industrialization, but that it has advantages as well as disadvantages for the NHS and the public.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 resource summarizes the most authoritative evidence available on the effects of care practices carried out during pregnancy, childbirth, and immediately after birth, and in addition to the details provided, the book concludes with six valuable tables that list the practices which are beneficial, those of unknown effectiveness, and those likely to be ineffective or harmful.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 Hospice Companion is a guide to best practices in end-of-life care, informed by the most current evidence-based literature in the field. It is intended to be used “at the bedside” and during interdisciplinary team meetings to efficiently and effectively improve patient care and provide useful family and caregiver support. It should be thought of as a “decision support tool” to be used by all members of the hospice interdisciplinary team, including nurses, physicians, counselors, and social workers. This is the third edition of this clinical guide and it includes forty chapters allotted into three sections (General Processes; Personal, Social, and Environmental Processes; Clinical Processes and Symptom Management) plus five appendices. The symptom management chapters are arranged alphabetically, covering the gamut of common and highly burdensome problems encountered in caring for patients with far-advanced illness, from agitation and anxiety to xerostomia. Chapters are concise, averaging 1,000 to 1,500 words (the exception is the chapter on pain, in view of its complexity). Each is organized around the specific clinical issue of concern by defining the problem and its usual causes, findings, and differential diagnosis. This is followed by outlining salient features of assessment and management according to practical, psychosocial, biomedical, and spiritual categories. Each chapter concludes with a list of goals that should be defined in establishing a plan of care and what should be documented in the clinical record as well as a list of recommended readings from the contemporary literature.Less

Spiritual sickness troubles American medicine. Through a death-denying culture, medicine has gained enormous power—an influence it maintains by distancing itself from religion and spirituality, which too often remind us of our mortality. As a result of this separation of medicine from spiritual traditions, patients facing serious illness infrequently receive adequate spiritual care despite the large body of empirical data demonstrating its import to patient meaning-making, quality of life, and medical utilization. This secular–sacred divide also unleashes depersonalizing social forces through the market, technology, and legal-bureaucratic powers that reduce clinicians to tiny cogs in an unstoppable machine. Hostility to Hospitality is one of the first books of its kind to explore these hostilities threatening medicine and offer a path forward for the partnership of modern medicine and spirituality. Drawing from interdisciplinary scholarship including empirical studies, interviews, history and sociology, theology, and public policy, the authors argue for structural pluralism as the missing piece to changing hostility to hospitality.Less

Building on Level One, this title of Human Factors in Healthcare continues to enhance and develop the SHEEP model, delving deeper into the challenges of leadership, conflict resolution, and decision making that healthcare professionals currently face. Presenting the five components of the SHEEP framework; Systems, Human Interaction, Environment, Equipment, and Personal, this title allows readers to develop their own human factors based approach within their workplace. Through a wealth of real-life examples of errors and patient safety issues drawn from the author's experience from over twenty years in healthcare, it enables the identification of potential patient safety pitfalls and offers solutions on how to avoid them.Less

This book describes real-world examples and practical approaches for integrating behavioral and physical health services in primary care and some specialty medical environments. Integrated care models are patient-centered; delivered by teams of medical professionals, utilize care coordination, and a population-based approach. This book is comfortably accessible to students, residents, faculty, and all mental health professionals, primary care and medical specialists who are working in ambulatory/office-based practices. We examine the integrated care literature and recommend applying collaborative care and other existing models of integrated care based on the existing evidence-based research. When there is no literature supporting a specific approach, our experts offer their ideas and take an aspirational approach about how to manage and treat specific behavioral disorder or problems. We assume the use of a fully integrated team staffing model while also recognizing this an ideal that may need modification based on local resources and practice cultures. The full integrated team includes a primary care or specialist provider(s), front desk staff, medical assistant(s), nurse(s), nurse practitioners, behavioral health specialist(s), health coaches, consulting psychiatrist, and care coordinator(s)/manager(s). The book has four sections: Part 1: Models of Integrated Care provides an overview of the principles and the framework of integrated care focusing on five highly successful integrated practices. We also discuss team-based care, financing, tele-behavioral health, and use of mental health assessments and outcome measures. Part 2: Integrative Care for Psychiatry and Primary Care is a review of existing and proposed models of integrated care for common psychiatric disorders. Our continuity approach emphasizes problem identification, differential diagnosis, brief treatment, and yearlong critical pathways with tables and figures detailing “how to” effectively deliver mental health care and manage substance misuse in an integrated care environment. Part 3: Integrated Care for Medical Sub-Specialties & Behavioral Medicine Conditions in Primary Care focuses on two models of integrating behavioral health care: (1) integrating wellness with behavioral health and (2) integrating psychiatry and neurology. Other chapters are “Women’s Mental Health Across the Reproductive Lifespan,” “Assessing and Treating Sexual Problems in an Integrated Care Environment,” “Integrated Chronic Pain and Psychiatric Management,” and “Death and Dying: Integrated Teams.” Part 4: Psychosocial Treatments in Integrated Care describes brief office-based counseling and psychosocial treatment approaches including: health coaching, crisis intervention, family, and group interventions. All of these brief treatment approaches are patient–centered, tailored to be used effectively integrated care settings and as an important contribution to population management.Less