In the United States, chronic diseases currently account for 70 percent of all deaths, and close to 48 million Americans report a disability related to a chronic condition. Today, about one in four Americans have multiple diseases and the prevalence and burden of chronic disease in the elderly and racial/ethnic minorities are notably disproportionate. Chronic disease has now emerged as a major public health problem and it threatens not only population health, but our social and economic welfare. Living Well with Chronic Disease identifies the population-based public health actions that can help reduce disability and improve functioning and quality of life among individuals who are at risk of developing a chronic disease and those with one or more diseases. The book recommends that all major federally funded programmatic and research initiatives in health include an evaluation on health-related quality of life and functional status. Also, the book recommends increasing support for implementation research on how to disseminate effective longterm lifestyle interventions in community-based settings that improve living well with chronic disease. Living Well with Chronic Disease uses three frameworks and considers diseases such as heart disease and stroke, diabetes, depression, and respiratory problems. The book's recommendations will inform policy makers concerned with health reform in public- and private-sectors and also managers of communitybased and public-health intervention programs, private and public research funders, and patients living with one or more chronic conditions.

This report, produced by the OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation, explores how systems approaches can be used in the public sector to solve complex or “wicked” problems.

"The Nation has lost sight of its public health goals and has allowed the system of public health to fall into 'disarray'," from The Future of Public Health. This startling book contains proposals for ensuring that public health service programs are efficient and effective enough to deal not only with the topics of today, but also with those of tomorrow. In addition, the authors make recommendations for core functions in public health assessment, policy development, and service assurances, and identify the level of government--federal, state, and local--at which these functions would best be handled.

This edited volume highlights the latest advances in and findings from research on service automation in public sector organizations. The contributing authors use a mix of social and technological approaches to increase readers’ understanding of public service automation. The respective chapters discuss the automation of services in public organizations from a conceptual standpoint, present empirical examples of automation applications in public organizations, and consider the implementation-related challenges that can arise. The book’s overall goal is to aid and inspire researchers and practitioners to expand their knowledge of service automation in public organizations, while also providing a foundation for policy development and future research. Following a brief introductory chapter, the book addresses major gaps in our current understanding of service automation in public organizations, and provides suggestions for future research. Moreover, it argues that there is a continued need to observe and learn from empirical examples, and a need for more critical studies on the social and societal consequences of increased service automation in public organizations.