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This unique collection of interactive case studies covers diverse topics at the intersection of public health and business, including direct-to-consumer genetic testing, programs to impact prescription adherence, the marketing of e-cigarettes and marijuana, workplace safety in Bangladesh, and cancer screening in Japan. Teaching notes for all cases are available to instructors adopting the text.Less

This resource examines the current trends in increased air/water pollution and energy consumption, and the depletion of natural resources, and the disproportionate impact on the poor and the economically viable solutions that can serve to remedy them — solutions that simultaneously address environmental and economic problems. This gap in previous research, evidence, and writing has left low-income countries often unwilling to take on major environmental problems and many poor communities believing they faced impossible choices between improving the environment in which they live and increasing the jobs and income available. Bringing together evidence-based recommendations and in-depth case studies of successful policies and programs around the world, this resource examines innovative solutions to this crucial challenge. In doing so, it addresses a comprehensive range of environmental sustainability challenges affecting low-, middle-, and high-income countries.Less

This book is based on the content covered during the non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention short course at the University of Oxford. It provides theoretical background and ‘real life case studies’ helping readers to apply the learnings to their day-to-day work. It covers case studies from both high-income countries and low- and middle-income countries. This book is structured around the four stages of the policy cycle: (1) problem definition; (2) solution generation; (3) resource mobilization and implementation; and (4) evaluation. Chapters 2–7 focus on problem definition, which involves understanding the burden of NCDs, its risk factors, the sociopolitical landscape, the role of advocacy, and screening and surveillance. Chapters 8–10 are about solution generation, which involves examining the evidence for potential costs and benefits of interventions, while also considering contextual factors, including the ethical and political dimensions of different solutions. Chapters 11–13 are on implementation and the mobilization of resources, both the money needed for material aspects of the interventions and the people required to plan for and carry out the interventions. Chapter 14 is about evaluation and monitoring, which may be designed to assess whether interventions met their aims and objectives. Given the cyclical nature of the policy cycle, the final chapter is about returning to the various stages. NCD prevention does not always follow the stages of the policy cycle in a strict sequence and often, NCD interventions will need revisiting in light of the experiences and lessons learned from earlier stages.Less

This is the second edition of the first comprehensive textbook about the measurement and valuation of health benefits for economic evaluation. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and similar agencies around the word require cost-effectiveness evidence in the form of incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) in order to make comparisons across competing demands on resources, and this has resulted in an explosion of theoretical and empirical work in the field. This book addresses the theoretical and practical considerations in the measurement and valuation of health benefit with empirical examples and applications to help clarify understanding and make relevant links to the real world. It includes a glossary of key terms and provides guidance on the use of different methods and instruments. This updated edition provides an-up-to date review of the theoretical basis of the QALY; the definition of health; the techniques of valuation (including ordinal); the modelling of health state values (including mapping between measures); a detailed review of generic preference-based measures and other instruments for obtaining health state utility values (with recent developments); cross-cultural issues (including the disability-adjusted life year); the aggregation of QALYs; and the practical issues surrounding the use of utility values in cost-effectiveness models. The book concludes with a discussion on the way forward in light of the substantial methodological differences, the role of normative judgements, and where further research is most likely to take forward this fascinating component of health economics.Less

Population health science is the study of the conditions that shape distributions of health within and across populations, and of the mechanisms through which these conditions manifest as the health of individuals. It is an emerging discipline, in the process of solidifying a theoretical framework and cannon of methods. In this textbook, nine principles of population health science are articulated. In addition, across 13 chapters, a detailed examination of these principles and their implications for the formation of theory, hypotheses, and data analysis to frame and inform the values with which population scientists conduct work are provided. The health challenges that place burdens on populations and individuals continue to require rigorous scientific effort; this book is a tool for both educators and researchers to use as a foundation for conducting research that will improve communities and shape health in the coming decades.Less

Looking back over the last century, one can find numerous examples of how policies have been a powerful tool for improving public health. In fact, some sort of policy action facilitated every one of the top 10 public health achievements of the last century. Early sanitation and clean water policies made huge strides in disease prevention. More recently, motor vehicle safety laws and smoke-free policies impacted the health and well-being of several generations. Although policies are extremely important to public health, professionals are often unprepared to plan, apply, or study policy. Prevention, Policy, and Public Health provides a basic foundation for students, professionals, and researchers to gain skills to be more effective in the policy arena. It offers information on the dynamics of the policymaking process, theoretical frameworks, analysis, and policy applications. It also describes shaping policies through advocacy and communication. Professionals and researchers who understand the dimensions of policy can conduct more realistic research and evaluation. They also are better prepared for opportunities and limitations within government. With current pressure to implement strategies for broad and sustainable public health improvements, policies are more important than ever. This book can be considered a primer to truly understanding the connections among prevention, policy, and public health.Less

Rapid and unpredictable developments in health policies, technologies, disease profiles, institutional environments, and their inter-connections have significant implications on how we design, develop, implement, and use health information systems (HIS) in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Our current systems have heightened expectations but have proven largely incapable of meeting these new challenges. Nor have they been able to effectively leverage upon the new opportunities that are emerging, such as through the cloud, big data, the proliferation of mobile devices and the Internet of Things, and also the increasing array of new open source software solutions being made available through global development communities. What is required to try and address these challenges and opportunities? This book proposes the ‘Expanded PHI’ (public health informatics) perspective as a way forward, and through the various chapters first seeks to define it, and then apply it to analyse the following key problematics facing public health informatics in the domains of research, practice, and policy: use of information; integration of systems; leveraging cloud computing and big data; design and building of institutions that facilitate; managing complexity; evolving governance mechanisms and standards; responding to the new challenges thrown up by universal health coverage and Sustainable Development Goals; and building synergies between health systems strengthening and health information strengthening efforts. In defining the scope of Expanded PHI, the field of public health informatics is first situated within an informatics context, and then within public health and finally within the context of changing global health policies. Drawing from these contextualizations, the design principles for Expanded PHI are elucidated, based primarily on a social systems perspective, where the health of populations is kept as the central purpose and a participatory and incremental nature of change as the primary strategy.Less

This book covers the implementation of telemental health (TMH) in resource-limited global settings. This book focuses on the current state of the technology, the different modalities, and the emergence of mobile-health. The global applicability, especially in resource-limited settings, is a new frontier for implementation sciences, and one that is proposed to reduce the mental health gap. The book reviews the global application of TMH internationally with examples from each continent. Case studies of TMH implementation from India, Taiwan, Africa, the Middle East, and more are layed out in this book. In addition, the book discusses provision of such care to underserved resource-limited populations globally, such as refugees in Denmark, Native Americans in the United States, and Aboriginal populations in Australia. This book promises a collective review of global TMH and hopes to provide anchorage for scholars and researches interested in this developing field.Less