In this reappraisal of public health and health promotion in contemporary societies, Deborah Lupton explores public health and health promotion using contemporary sociocultural and political theory, particularly that building on Foucault′s writings on subjectivity, embodiment and power relations. The author examines the implications of the new social theories for the study of health promotion and health communication to analyze the symbolic nature of public health practices, and explores their underlying meanings and assumptions.

In this reappraisal of public health and health promotion in contemporary societies, Deborah Lupton explores public health and health promotion using contemporary sociocultural and political theory, particularly that building on Foucault′s writings on subjectivity, embodiment and power relations. The author examines the implications of the new social theories for the study of health promotion and health communication to analyze the symbolic nature of public health practices, and explores their underlying meanings and assumptions.

Medical research, with its power to attract money and political support, and its promise of cures for a wide range of medical burdens, has good and bad sides--which are often indistinguishable. In this book, the author teases out the distinctions and differences, revealing the difficulties that result when the research imperative is suffused with excessive zeal, adulterated by the profit motive, or used to justify cutting moral corners. Exploring the National Institutes of Health's annual budget, the inflated estimates of health care cost savings that result from research, the high prices charged by drug companies, the use and misuse of human subjects for medical testing, and the controversies surrounding human cloning and stem cell research, he clarifies the fine line between doing good and doing harm in the name of medical progress. His work shows that medical research must be understood in light of other social and economic needs and how even the research imperative, dedic.

The United States has the highest per capita spending on health care of any industrialized nation but continually lags behind other nations in health care outcomes including life expectancy and infant mortality. National health expenditures are projected to exceed $2.5 trillion in 2009. Given healthcare's direct impact on the economy, there is a critical need to control health care spending. According to The Health Imperative: Lowering Costs and Improving Outcomes, the costs of health care have strained the federal budget, and negatively affected state governments, the private sector and individuals. Healthcare expenditures have restricted the ability of state and local governments to fund other priorities and have contributed to slowing growth in wages and jobs in the private sector. Moreover, the number of uninsured has risen from 45.7 million in 2007 to 46.3 million in 2008. The Health Imperative: Lowering Costs and Improving Outcomes identifies a number of factors driving expenditure growth including scientific uncertainty, perverse economic and practice incentives, system fragmentation, lack of patient involvement, and under-investment in population health. Experts discussed key levers for catalyzing transformation of the delivery system. A few included streamlined health insurance regulation, administrative simplification and clarification and quality and consistency in treatment. The book is an excellent guide for policymakers at all levels of government, as well as private sector healthcare workers.

This book explores the impact of American values on the evolving design of health care. It gives us a fascinating picture of three machines--the iron lung, the dialysis machine, and the respirator--and three turning points in health policy: the rise of Blue Cross, the passage of Medicare, and the failure of the Clinton Health Security Act. By analyzing the links between medical technologies and legislative developments, this pioneering book clarifies the complex relationship between social values and public policy in the shaping of our health care system. It helps us to understand why middle-class Americans preferred to keep government out of health care, when they made exceptions to the rule, and how their preferences fit with their own experiences and served their self-interest. Beginnings Count argues that it is lived history, not an abstract commitment to marketplace forces or a reflexive opposition to big government, that has shaped the American Way in health care.

The ability to see deeply affects how human beings perceive and interpret the world around them. For most people, eyesight is part of everyday communication, social activities, educational and professional pursuits, the care of others, and the maintenance of personal health, independence, and mobility. Functioning eyes and vision system can reduce an adult's risk of chronic health conditions, death, falls and injuries, social isolation, depression, and other psychological problems. In children, properly maintained eye and vision health contributes to a child's social development, academic achievement, and better health across the lifespan. The public generally recognizes its reliance on sight and fears its loss, but emphasis on eye and vision health, in general, has not been integrated into daily life to the same extent as other health promotion activities, such as teeth brushing; hand washing; physical and mental exercise; and various injury prevention behaviors. A larger population health approach is needed to engage a wide range of stakeholders in coordinated efforts that can sustain the scope of behavior change. The shaping of socioeconomic environments can eventually lead to new social norms that promote eye and vision health. Making Eye Health a Population Health Imperative: Vision for Tomorrow proposes a new population-centered framework to guide action and coordination among various, and sometimes competing, stakeholders in pursuit of improved eye and vision health and health equity in the United States. Building on the momentum of previous public health efforts, this report also introduces a model for action that highlights different levels of prevention activities across a range of stakeholders and provides specific examples of how population health strategies can be translated into cohesive areas for action at federal, state, and local levels.

ÔHealthy organisations are twice as likely to get better results than unhealthy ones, and this could be a matter of life and death if your business is healthcare. Whatever way you look at it, HR has a key role to play and the authors once again points the way.Õ Ð Clare Chapman, Group People Director, BT (British Telecoms) ÔIf healthcare systems around the world are to respond to the growing demands of an ageing population and advances in technology, then healthcare workforces will need to managed with imagination, agility and innovation. This important book sets out some of these challenges in a thoughtful and accessible way, allowing the reader to tap into the research pedigree of its authors and to draw out lessons and evidence which will inform both strategy and practice.Õ Ð Stephen Bevan, Director, Centre for Workforce Effectiveness, The Work Foundation This insightful book discusses vital concepts of system sustainability in terms of productivity, quality improvement, innovation and cost control in the context of maximising the potential of staff in the health care sector through effective human resource management. Health systems in the western world face increasingly intense pressure to contain or reduce costs, while countries such as China and India move towards universal coverage. The contributors illustrate that radical gains in efficiency and innovative practice are required internationally in health care systems. They argue that the high proportion of health care system costs invested in staffing place the human resource function at the forefront of meeting this challenge. Sustained system change and productivity gains, more effective management of staff and work climate are essential elements of reform and are all covered in this book The book provides practical examples as to how health service managers can rise to the challenge of sustaining services against greater pressures than ever before. It will strongly appeal to academics and students of health service management and public sector management. Health service managers, HR professionals in health as well as clinical staff will also find plenty of informative information in this enriching compendium.