Bücher der Reihe SpringerBriefs in Public Health

The book outlines post-Soviet style of health management in Central Asia. Regional studies on Central Asia to date have focused on states, politics, religion and inter-ethnic relations but not on the health system within the region. Soviet-style policies have also covered only other aspects relevant for the region. This book highlights the public health situation of the region with a focus on drug abuse, HIV/AIDS in the context of increased mobility, and drug trafficking routes which became even more porous after the break-up of the Soviet Union.Based on a qualitative study, the empirical data in the book was collected during long-term fieldwork conducted in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in 2010-2011 as well as shorter stays in Uzbekistan between 2012-2016. The analysis of the empirical material largely draws on the works of Foucault, particularly his concept of biopolitics when analyzing Soviet-style health management that is still practiced in the region. Applying the Foucauldian genealogical method, this study has been structured to trace the genealogy of epidemics to understand the historical path of drug abuse in the region as well as the discursive genealogy of drug politics and drug abuse. Applying the same genealogical method of Foucault, the formative and discursive trajectory of the institution of Uchyot was traced to contextualize the health governance methods that have historical legacy of Soviet-style governance and control of the total population.Drugs and Public Health in Post-Soviet Central Asia: Soviet-Style Health Management is a unique resource for academic specialists, practitioners/professionals, and advanced undergraduate and graduate students in public health, as well as a range of scholars and professionals in sociology, political science, anthropology, and anyone with an interest in the Central Asia region, drug addiction, or HIV. The book also could appeal to international donors in the field of HIV/drug addiction who are working in the region.

Responding to public health challenges at the global and local levels can give rise to an array of tensions. To assure sustainable public health, these tensions need to be meaningfully balanced. Using empirical evidence and lived experiences relating to HIV from the global south, this book enunciates the many dimensions of national-level responses to HIV/AIDS including conceptual, philosophical, and methodological perspectives from public health, public policy, bioethics, and social sciences. Calling out glaring neglects, the book makes a bold recommendation for the destabilization of the naturalness with which national HIV/AIDS responses ignore the socio-political and medico-ethical dimensions of HIV. The case made is grounded in the philosophy of social public health. Such a critical perspective is not unique to Ghana's response to HIV/AIDS but serves as emblematic voice for similarly situated settings of the global south. The book is also timely. It is written at a time when public health actors are repositioning themselves to be competent users of not only pharmaceutic vaccines, but also social vaccines. Topics explored in the chapters include:Public health approaches to HIV and AIDSAccess to life-saving public health goods by persons infected or affected by HIV"e;They are criminals"e;: AIDS, the law, harm reduction, and the socially excludedDeveloping socially and ethically responsive National AIDS policiesBalancing the Socio-political and Medico-ethical Dimensions of HIV: A Social Public Health Approach is compelling reading for a broad spectrum of readers. The book will appeal to professionals, scholars, and students in public health, public policy, bioethics, and social sciences, as well as medical anthropologists, sociologists, and global health scholars. Public health economists, lay politicians, and civil society organizations advocating for health equity will find the book useful as well. 

This compact book uniquely examines individual lived experience with spinal cord injury (SCI). It provides education and a clearer understanding of the many facets of a SCI -- medical, physical, psychological, cognitive, personal, and social -- in a single compact volume, so that readers learn the effect a SCI can have on a person. The contents also include resources for more specific exploration of information. SCI is a direct public health concern due to not only the cause of the injury itself, most often of violent origin, but also how the individuals perceive themselves after the injury and their participation in society, as well as how society welcomes them back. This compact book has four distinct chapters, each one addressing a different component of SCI with a set of resources to guide the individual with SCI, their family and their friends in the process. It first explores the physical as a means to providean understanding of what body changes occur. From there, it goes on to examine what is the subjective meaning and lived experience of disability for persons with SCI. The brief ends with an examination of what organizations and programs exist to promote independence and a sense of community for persons with SCI.The Physical, Personal, and Social Impact of Spinal Cord Injury: From the Loss of Identity to Achieving a Life Worth Living is a book with broad appeal. It is written in such a way that it serves as a useful and accessible resource for people who work with persons with SCI, students and instructors with an interest in the subject, as well as persons with SCI themselves and their families.

This book investigates the potential medical benefits natural biomaterials can offer in developing countries by analyzing the case of Bolivia. The book explores the medical and health related applications of Bolivian commodities: quinoa, barley, sugarcane, corn, sorghum and sunflower seeds. This book helps readers better understand some of the key health concerns facing countries like Bolivia and how naturally derived biomaterials and therapeutics could help substantially alleviate many of their problems.

This book discusses the historical context, country experience, and best practices that led to eliminating infectious diseases from the WHO's South-East Asia Region, such as malaria, lymphatic filariasis, yaws, trachoma, and mother-to-child HIV in the mid-twentieth and twenty-first century.  The UN Sustainable Development Goals (3.3) targets to end AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases by 2030. In this context, this book is of high significance to countries from the SEA region and around the globe. It helps create national strategies and action plans on infectious disease elimination and thus attaining SDG 3.3.

The sister cities of the southwestern United States border are challenged by widespread environmental and health issues and limited access to help. And while different initiatives have been set up to improve health outcomes and lessen inequities in the border region, evaluation data are scarce.Culture and Health Disparities provides a perspective on U.S.-Mexico border health with an evidence-based guide for conceptualizing, implementing, and evaluating health interventions. Taking into account the unique qualities of border life and their influence on general wellbeing, this important volume offers detailed criteria for creating public health programs that are medically, culturally, and ethically sound. The book identifies gaps in intervention research on major health concerns in the area, relating them to disparity-reduction efforts in the rest of the U.S. and arguing for more relevant means of data gathering and analysis. The author also asserts that progress can be made on both sides of the border despite concurrent social and political problems in the region. Included in the coverage:The border region as a social system.The development of health disparities: a life-course model.A social systems approach to understanding health disparities.A critique of U.S.-Mexico border health interventions.Evaluating interventions to reduce healthcare disparities.Ethical issues in health interventions across cultures and contexts.A text for researchers and practitioners working to promote border health and reduce service inequalities, Culture and Health Disparities asks pertinent questions and provides workable, meaningful answers.

This book guides healthcare professionals, hospital administrators, and medical interpreters in the United States (and internationally) in ways to better communicate with Deaf and Hard of Hearing (D/HH) patients and sign language interpreters in healthcare settings.

This open access book is a collection of research papers on COVID-19 by Germán Velásquez from 2020 and early 2021 that help to answer the question: How can an agency like the World Health Organization (WHO) be given a stronger voice to exercise authority and leadership? The considerable health, economic and social challenges that the world faced at the beginning of 2020 with COVID-19 continued and worsened in many parts of the world in the second-half of 2020 and into 2021. Many of these countries and nations wanted to explore COVID-19 on their own, sometimes without listening to the main international health bodies such as WHO, an agency of the United Nations system with long-standing experience and vast knowledge at the global level and of which all countries in the world are members. In this single volume, the chapters present the progress of thinking and debate ¿ particularly in relation to drugs and vaccines ¿ that wouldenable a response to the COVID-19 pandemic or to subsequent crises that may arise. Among the topics covered:COVID-19 Vaccines: Between Ethics, Health and EconomicsMedicines and Intellectual Property: 10 Years of the WHO Global StrategyRe-thinking Global and Local Manufacturing of Medical Products After COVID-19Rethinking R&D for Pharmaceutical Products After the Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 ShockIntellectual Property and Access to Medicines and VaccinesThe World Health Organization Reforms in the Time of COVID-19Vaccines, Medicines and COVID-19: How Can WHO Be Given a Stronger Voice? is essential reading for negotiators from the 194 member countries of the World Health Organization (WHO); World Trade Organization (WTO) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) staff participating in these negotiations; academics and students of public health, medicine, health sciences, law, sociology and political science; and intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations that follow the issue of access to treatments and vaccines for COVID-19.

As a follow-up to COVID-19 in New York City: an Ecology of Race and Class Oppression, which showed that decades of discriminatory public policies shaped the Bronx into the epicenter of the first wave of COVID-19, this book examines the build up to the crest and subsequent ebbing of the second wave of COVID-19 across the 62 counties of New York State (NYS) and 152 ZIP Code areas of the four central boroughs of New York City (NYC). Like its predecessor, the sequel examines the vulnerabilities that give rise to spikes in infection rates that form epicenters. Unlike the first wave, NYC was not the epicenter of the second wave; high-incident counties just outside NYS formed an extended initial epicenter and exported COVID-19 to neighboring counties of NYS. Rural NYS counties differed significantly from urban ones socioeconomically and in infection rates during the cresting period. Before the crest, no socioeconomic factor was associated with county infection rates; rather, the major associating factor was political and cultural: percent of the 2020 vote garnered by Trump. Rural counties voted heavily for Trump. This association disappeared post-crest by mid-January 2021. In NYC, the Bronx again behaved like a single high-incidence entity, unlike the other three boroughs that had patches of high and low infection incidence. Among the topics covered:The Second COVID Wave Washes Over New York StateThe Second Wave Storm-Surges Across New York CityDiscussion of County Data from the Second Wave of COVID-19Parsing Meaning From the 152 ZIP Code Data The book closes with a prescription for pandemic response planning based on empowered communities and workers interacting with health departments as equals. The Recurrence of COVID-19 in New York State and New York City is a valuableresource for social epidemiologists, public health researchers of health disparities, those in public service tasked with addressing these problems, and infectious disease scientists who focus on spread in human populations of new zoonotic diseases. The brief also will find readership among students in these fields, civil rights scholars, science writers, medical anthropologists and sociologists, medical and public health historians, public health economists, and public policy scientists.

This book prepares and guides individuals who are about to embark (or already have embarked) on a health/medical PhD journey, with a specific focus on Public Health. Based on the author''s experience as a recently graduated Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) student, readers benefit from the knowledge imparted and lessons learned, including an analysis of the different aspects of a Public Health doctoral degree, and practical tips and guidance on how to go about this journey from the initial phase of choosing a research niche up until the oral examination (also called defence). All throughout the book, the author shares examples from her own journey to show that in spite of sacrifices and hurdles along the way, hard work, perseverance, and supportive resources can help see you through, eventually, to a hopefully positive outcome at the end.Using an informal style, the author provides a step-wise guide, from chapter to chapter, on the various essential aspects that need to be considered, including:The initial steps towards a PhDProposal, permissions and fundingThe fieldworkThe art of data analysisThe hurdles along the way ΓÇô a personal experienceWhat comes after the completion of a PhD?Intended to be a compact go-to guide for students throughout their PhD journey, both from an academic and personal perspective, To Do or Not to Do a PhD? engages readers who are about to enroll in or who already have started a PhD, especially in public health, epidemiology, and health/medical fields of study. The brief also would appeal to postgraduate and undergraduate students who are interested in learning about how to write a research proposal, draft a scientific paper for publication in a journal, or prepare a thesis.

This book is the first social epidemiological study of COVID-19 spread in New York City (NYC), the primary epicenter of the United States. New York City spread COVID-19 throughout the United States. The context of epicenter formation determined the rapid, extreme rise of NYC case and mortality rates. Decades of public policies destructive of poor neighborhoods of color heavily determined the spread within the City. Premature mortality rates revealed the "weathering" of policy-targeted communities: accelerated aging due to chronic stress. COVID attacks the elderly more severely than those under the age of 60. Communities with high proportions of prematurely aged residents proved fertile ground for COVID illness and mortality. The very public policies that created swaths of white wealth across much of Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn destroyed the human diversity needed to ride out crises. Topics covered within the chapters include: Premature Death Rate Geography in New York City: Implications for COVID-19 NYC COVID Markers at the ZIP Code Level Prospero''s New Castles: COVID Infection and Premature Mortality in the NY Metro Region Pandemic Firefighting vs. Pandemic Fire Prevention Conclusion: Scales of Time in DisastersAn exemplary study in health disparities, COVID-19 in New York City: An Ecology of Race and Class Oppression is essential reading for social epidemiologists, public health researchers of health disparities, those in public service tasked with addressing these problems, and infectious disease scientists who focus on spread in human populations of new zoonotic diseases. The brief also should appeal to students in these fields, civil rights scholars, science writers, medical anthropologists and sociologists, medical and public health historians, public health economists, and public policy scientists.

Practitioners are increasingly adopting a personalised medicine approach to individually tailored patient care, especially disease diagnosis and treatment with the use of biomarkers. However, development and implementation of such approaches to chronic disease prevention need further investigation and concerted efforts for proper use in healthcare systems. This book provides high-quality, multidisciplinary knowledge from research in personalised medicine, specifically personalised prevention of chronic disease. It addresses different perspectives of prevention in the field, and is the outcome of a four-year work of the Personalized prevention of Chronic Disease (PRECeDI) Consortium, a multi-disciplinary and multi-professional team of experts. The Consortium jointly agreed to document and address the five aspects or domains of personalised medicine and prevention as individual chapters: Identification of biomarkers for the prevention of chronic diseaseEvaluation of predictive genomic applicationsEthico-legal and policy issues surrounding personalised medicineRoles and responsibilities of stakeholders in informing healthy individuals on their genome: a sociotechnical analysisIdentification of organisational models for the provision of predictive genomic applicationsThe book focuses on the Consortium''s recommendations that are derived from each of these domains based on up-to-date evidence and research that the authors write, follow, and systematically organise and report.Personalisation of health care is, eventually, a driver of innovation in research and healthcare systems. With this SpringerBrief on Personalised Health Care: Fostering Precision Medicine Advancements for Gaining Population Health Impact, the Consortium provides further evidence of the clinical validity and utility of personalised medicine with special emphasis on the prevention of chronic diseases. The book is a useful resource for policy makers, industry and healthcare professionals, scientists, technology-sector professionals, investors, citizens, and private companies that need proper advice to realise the potential of personalised medicine.

Chapter 1. Incidence and Prevalence of Child Sexual AbuseChapter 2. Clinical PerspectiveChapter 3. Related Issues Chapter 4. Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, and Coping Strategies among Child-Serving ProfessionalsChapter 5. Policy Direction-Focus on Prevention

This concise volume guides public health advocates on how to successfully advocate for their cause, strengthen their messaging and communication strategies, build coalitions, and gather political allies.In the book, the author shares lessons learned from an exploratory study in which key legislators from the Massachusetts General Court (legislature) were interviewed to determine their level of awareness and knowledge regarding health disparities. Racial and ethnic disparities in health are a major concern for citizens, states, and the nation and are important to study and understand to strategically address and eliminate such inequities. Through these lessons, public health advocates gain an understanding of whether and how factors affect knowledge and awareness of health disparities and learn to communicate more effectively with legislators, key stakeholders, and other decision-makers. The brief also features ΓÇ£Notes from the Field" from those working in the "trenches" that highlight different perspectives on health disparities and provide first-hand advice for advocates hoping to close the disparities gaps and create a more equitable nation for all.  Successful Public Health Advocacy is a relevant resource for advocates, as well as students, in public health, public policy, and related fields who wish to gain a better understanding on how legislators gather their health information for policy-making or constituent work and apply this data to develop and implement effective public health advocacy campaigns.  

This compelling book examines mortality risk among former Hispanic and African-American players in Major League Baseball (MLB) during the 40-year period following desegregation in the League. Analyzing a variety of biological, cultural, social, and environmental factors, the author illustrates the potential health effects of racial disparities on these elite athletes and fills a significant gap in the mortality literature.Included in the coverage:The history and evolution of professional baseball in both the United States and Latin AmericaLiterature and statistical reviews of racial and ethnic inequalities in mortality in the US general populationOverview and evaluation of methodologies used to statistically analyze mortality risk in this professional-athlete populationImplications and applications of research findings related to Hispanic and African-American MLB-player mortalityA unique perspective on a pressing public health issue, Mortality Among Hispanic and African-American Players After Desegregation in Major League Baseball is a salient read for public health professionals including epidemiologists, medical professionals, and social scientists, as well as athletes, historians, and those with broad interest in African American and Latino health.

Accordingly the use of medicinal plants to curtail oral pathogens has been reported by a number of studies. The present book updates the issues related to oral health, oral diseases and the role of medicinal plants in overcoming orally-derived health problems.

This compact resource analyzes and demystifies the processes of applying for, competing for, and getting funding for research. Neither a cookbook nor a template, it encourages readers to apply the critical thinking and attention to detail they use in their investigations to the pursuit of the grant. Chapters delve into choosing among funding options, project planning and writing, filling out the materials in the application packet, and troubleshooting for problems at various steps of the journey. Along the way, the authors also explore common myths of grantsmanship and alert readers to hidden pitfalls that can get an otherwise good submission rejected. Among the core skill areas covered:· Using strategic thinking throughout the application process· Understanding the major grant mechanisms· Navigating the grant timeline, including the peer review and the vetting process· Writing the effective project description· Following up if the project is not funded or funding is deferred· Building a career grant by grantBrimming with expert knowledge, Grantsmanship for New Investigators ably balances motivation with realism. The authors' deep understanding and experience of how funding agencies arrive at judgments will inspire readers to present their research in the most convincing manner.

This innovative resource offers a unique, multidisciplinary approach for the utilization of planning theory to eliminate health disparities in rural communities. The book provides tools in the public health, policy, and planning disciplines to help resolve significant differences in life expectancy and quality of life in these communities, concluding with a progressive vision for alleviating geographical health disparities on a local, national, and global scale. Chapters highlight models and approaches best suited to addressing this public health concern, suggesting action strategies focused around each of the three focus areas:1. Public health: Elucidation of the contextual factors impacting the health of rural communities by: reporting statistical updates on a range of chronic and infectious diseases that disproportionately affect rural populations both globally and in the U.S.; providing discourse on the importance of addressing critical social determinants (global and national) that impede optimal health outcomes among rural populations; and, acknowledging the compositional factors of individuals who reside in rural spaces.2. Public policy: Application of specific policy models to garner both public and political will towards sustainable policy change to improve healthy living in rural spaces.3. Rural planning: Identification of national and international planning models that can be used to design strategic plans targeted to improve quality of life, create sustainable development, and establish economic well-being and growth in rural communities.Rural Health Disparities: Public Health, Policy, and Planning Approaches will find an engaged audience among non-profit organizations, planners, public health practitioners, policy analysts, and public interest groups, as well as rural health advocates and students enrolled in planning, public policy, and/or public health courses.

This eye-opening study adds to the scarce scholarly literature on professional athletes, bringing empirical rigor to issues often clouded by mystery and hearsay. It identifies socioeconomic, demographic, and career variables as risk factors for mortality among former NBA and NFL players, along with hypotheses to be tested relating to elite athletes and other U.S. populations. A detailed multivariate analysis compares mortality factors, rates, and outcomes within and between the two leagues, comparing them also with the general U.S. male population. The findings and conclusions gleaned from this research offer possibilities for future research to improve health and quality of life in this specific athlete cohort, among athletes in general, in other groups, and in the larger society.Potential risk factors analyzed in this groundbreaking study: · Race· Body Mass Index (BMI)· U.S. birthplace region (Northeast, West, Midwest, South)· Years of playing experience· Playing position Mortality and Its Risk Factors among Professional Athletes will spark interest among professionals and researchers in public health, sports medicine, and epidemiology; current and former NBA and NFL players, their families, coaches, trainers, and union representatives; non-professional basketball and football players, athletes from other sports, and their families, coaches, and trainers; social scientists; policymakers; obesity researchers; parents of children who play contact sports; students, teachers, and researchers in occupational health and racial disparities; and health care providers.

In most developed countries, the epidemiological disease profile has changed from infectious to degenerative, causing major alterations in epidemiological thinking and public health policies.

Patient empowerment as a key component in the future of healthcare systems is the focus of this concise in-depth analysis. It begins by defining patient empowerment as a collaborative partnership linking patients, providers, and systems, and examines the roles of health literacy, provider-patient and system-patient communication, and patient-centered care in the empowerment process. Models of positive and negative empowerment identify optimum conditions when patient and provider participate in service design and delivery as well as pitfalls and risks to patient and system when goals and input are mismatched. The book also translates concepts into practice with guidelines for empowerment strategies at the provider and organization levels to improve patient outcomes and system sustainability.   Included in the coverage:   ·         Empowering healthcare organizations to empower patients ·         A re-design of the patient-provider partnership ·         Patient empowerment: a requisite for sustainability ·         The risks of value co-destruction in service systems ·         The need for enlightening and managing the dark side of patient empowerment ·         Disentangling the relationship between individual health literacy and patient empowerment   Straightforwardly written as a call for proactive change, The Bright Side and the Dark Side of Patient Empowerment is an illuminating text for scholars interested in patient empowerment and patient engagement, policymakers and managers operating in the healthcare field, and healthcare and social care providers.

This resource supports evidence-informed approaches to improving the cultural competence of health service delivery. Cultural competence is critical to reducing health disparities and has become a popular concept in these countries for improving access to high-quality, respectful and responsive health care.

This eye-opening monograph challenges professionals across disciplines to take a more thorough and focused approach to addressing child physical abuse at the practice and policy levels. Positing child physical abuse as a public health crisis (as opposed to a more vague “social” one), the authors use empirical findings and clinical insights to advocate for wide-scale reforms in screening, assessment, responses, treatment, and prevention. The book’s social/ecological perspective delves into root causes of physical maltreatment, analyzes the role of family and community risk and support factors, and notes forms of discomfort keeping many professionals from meeting the issue head-on. From there, chapters describe coordinated multidisciplinary efforts for intervention and prevention with the potential to avert all forms of child abuse.   Included in the coverage:   ·         Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) ·         The non-verbal child: obtaining a history for caregiver(s) ·         Clinical perspectives on multidisciplinary collaboration           Corporal punishment and risk for child physical abuse         Intimate partner violence (IPV) and risk for child physical abuse        Evolution of child maltreatment prevention        Complementary dynamic prevention approach Child Physical Abuse sets out the scope of this ongoing crisis for a wide audience including healthcare providers, child advocates, clinical social workers, public health officials, mental health providers, legislative staff professionals, and members of the lay public, with clear guidelines for effective long-term solutions.   

This thought-provoking treatise argues that current human fertility rates are fueling a public health crisis that is at once local and global. Its analysis and data summarize the ecological costs of having children, presenting ethical dilemmas for prospective parents in an era of competition for scarce resources, huge disparities of wealth and poverty, and unsustainable practices putting irreparable stress on the planet. Questions of individual responsibility and integrity as well as personal moral and procreative issues are examined carefully against larger and more long-range concerns. The authorΓÇÖs assertion that even modest efforts toward reducing global fertility rates would help curb carbon emissions, slow rising global temperatures, and forestall large-scale climate disaster is well reasoned and more than plausible.Among the topics covered: ┬╖         The multiplier effect: food, water, energy, and climate.┬╖         The role of population in mitigating climate change.┬╖         The carbon legacy of procreation.┬╖         Obligations to our possible children.┬╖         Rights, what is right, and the right to do wrong.┬╖         The moral burden to have small families.Toward a Small Family Ethic sounds a clarion call for bioethics students and working bioethicists. This brief, thought-rich volume steers readers toward challenges that need to be met, and consequences that will need to be addressed if they are not.