Health care costs are the top kitchen table issue facing most Americans. As people are morphing into health consumers, they seek Amazon-like experiences in health care. This book documents how Americans can become full health citizens through universal health care access, data privacy and personal control, investment in social determinants, digital tools, and health engagement.

Health and Canadian Society provides a comprehensive overview of the relationship between health, health care, and Canadian society. It is a wide-ranging volume that moves from personal and micro concerns to a more macro and institutional focus. It includes chapters of a descriptive nature and others with a more explanatory intent. They have been selected from the major journals or have been expressly written for this book. Ninety-five percent of the contributions are new to this edition. The chapters and the studies reported on are methodologically diverse, ranging from ethnographic studies to statistical analyses of data from large national surveys. Though the chapters are written by anthropologists, economists, historians, political scientists, and physicians, as well as sociologists, they all have a sociological "turn." Recognized as the standard textbook on the sociology of health in Canada, Health and Canadian Society is an essential reference for sociologists, health care providers, health administrators, and policy planners.

The anthrax incidents following the 9/11 terrorist attacks put the spotlight on the nation's public health agencies, placing it under an unprecedented scrutiny that added new dimensions to the complex issues considered in this report. The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century reaffirms the vision of Healthy People 2010, and outlines a systems approach to assuring the nation's health in practice, research, and policy. This approach focuses on joining the unique resources and perspectives of diverse sectors and entities and challenges these groups to work in a concerted, strategic way to promote and protect the public's health. Focusing on diverse partnerships as the framework for public health, the book discusses: The need for a shift from an individual to a population-based approach in practice, research, policy, and community engagement. The status of the governmental public health infrastructure and what needs to be improved, including its interface with the health care delivery system. The roles nongovernment actors, such as academia, business, local communities and the media can play in creating a healthy nation. Providing an accessible analysis, this book will be important to public health policy-makers and practitioners, business and community leaders, health advocates, educators and journalists.

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.

For four decades Robert Evans has been Canada’s foremost health policy analyst and commentator, playing a leadership role in the development of both health economics and population health at home and internationally. An Undisciplined Economist collects Evans’ most important contributions and includes two new articles. The topics addressed range widely, from the peculiar structure of the health care industry to the social determinants of the health of entire populations to the misleading role that economists have sometimes played in health policy debates. Written with Evans' characteristic clarity, candour, and wit, these essays unabashedly expose health policy myths and the special interests that lie behind them. He refutes claims that public health insurance is unsustainable, that the health care costs of an aging population will bankrupt Canada, that user charges will make the health care system more efficient, and that health care is the most important determinant of a population’s health. An Undisciplined Economist is a valuable collection for those familiar with Evans’ work, a lucid introduction for those new to the fields of health economics, health policy, and population health, and a fitting tribute to an outstanding scholar.

Appalachians have been characterized as a population with numerous disparities in health and limited access to medical services and infrastructures, leading to inaccurate generalizations that inhibit their healthcare progress. Appalachians face significant challenges in obtaining effective care, and the public lacks information about both their healthcare needs and about the resources communities have developed to meet those needs. In Appalachian Health and Well-Being, editors Robert L. Ludke and Phillip J. Obermiller bring together leading researchers and practitioners to provide a much-needed compilation of data- and research-driven perspectives, broadening our understanding of strategies to decrease the health inequalities affecting both rural and urban Appalachians. The contributors propose specific recommendations for necessary research, suggest practical solutions for health policy, and present best practices models for effective health intervention. This in-depth analysis offers new insights for students, health practitioners, and policy makers, promoting a greater understanding of the factors affecting Appalachian health and effective responses to those needs.