The Public Shaping of Medical Research

The Public Shaping of Medical Research

Author: Peter Wehling

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-11-27

Total Pages: 309

ISBN-13: 1317584473

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Bringing together an international selection of leading scholars and representatives from patients’ organizations, this comprehensive collection explores the interaction between civil society groups and biomedical science, technology development, and research politics. This volume is an important reference for academics and researchers with an interest in the sociology of health and illness, science and technology studies, the sociology of knowledge or healthcare management and research, as well as medical researchers and those involved with health-related civil society organizations.


Book Synopsis The Public Shaping of Medical Research by : Peter Wehling

Download or read book The Public Shaping of Medical Research written by Peter Wehling and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-11-27 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bringing together an international selection of leading scholars and representatives from patients’ organizations, this comprehensive collection explores the interaction between civil society groups and biomedical science, technology development, and research politics. This volume is an important reference for academics and researchers with an interest in the sociology of health and illness, science and technology studies, the sociology of knowledge or healthcare management and research, as well as medical researchers and those involved with health-related civil society organizations.


The Public Shaping of Medical Research

The Public Shaping of Medical Research

Author: Peter Wehling

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-11-27

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 1317584465

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Patient organizations and social health movements offer one of the most important and illuminating examples of civil society engagement and participation in scientific research and research politics. Influencing the research agenda, and initiating, funding and accelerating the development of diagnostic tools, effective therapies and appropriate health-care for their area of interest, they may champion alternative, sometimes controversial, programs or critique dominant medical paradigms. Some movements and organizations advocate for medical recognition of contested illnesses, as with fibromyalgia orADHD, while some attempt to "de-medicalize" others, such as obesity or autism. Bringing together an international selection of leading scholars and representatives from patients' organizations, this comprehensive collection explores the interaction between civil society groups and biomedical science, technology development, and research politics. It takes stock of the key findings of the research conducted in the field over the past two decades and addresses emerging problems and future challenges concerning the interrelations between health movements and patient organisations on the one hand, and biomedical research and research policies on the other hand. Combining empirical case studies with conceptual discussion, the book discusses how public participation can contribute to, as well as restrict, the democratization of scientific knowledge production. This volume is an important reference for academics and researchers with an interest in the sociology of health and illness, science and technology studies, the sociology of knowledge, medical ethics or healthcare management and research, as well as medical researchers and those involved with health-related civil society organizations.


Book Synopsis The Public Shaping of Medical Research by : Peter Wehling

Download or read book The Public Shaping of Medical Research written by Peter Wehling and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-11-27 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Patient organizations and social health movements offer one of the most important and illuminating examples of civil society engagement and participation in scientific research and research politics. Influencing the research agenda, and initiating, funding and accelerating the development of diagnostic tools, effective therapies and appropriate health-care for their area of interest, they may champion alternative, sometimes controversial, programs or critique dominant medical paradigms. Some movements and organizations advocate for medical recognition of contested illnesses, as with fibromyalgia orADHD, while some attempt to "de-medicalize" others, such as obesity or autism. Bringing together an international selection of leading scholars and representatives from patients' organizations, this comprehensive collection explores the interaction between civil society groups and biomedical science, technology development, and research politics. It takes stock of the key findings of the research conducted in the field over the past two decades and addresses emerging problems and future challenges concerning the interrelations between health movements and patient organisations on the one hand, and biomedical research and research policies on the other hand. Combining empirical case studies with conceptual discussion, the book discusses how public participation can contribute to, as well as restrict, the democratization of scientific knowledge production. This volume is an important reference for academics and researchers with an interest in the sociology of health and illness, science and technology studies, the sociology of knowledge, medical ethics or healthcare management and research, as well as medical researchers and those involved with health-related civil society organizations.


Shaping Health Policy Through Nursing Research

Shaping Health Policy Through Nursing Research

Author: Ada Sue Hinshaw, PhD, RN, FAAN

Publisher: Springer Publishing Company

Published: 2010-08-26

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 0826110703

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Named a 2013 Doody's Core Title! 2011 AJN Book of the Year Winner in Nursing Research! "This is a much needed addition to nursing's arsenal of policy books. It is the first to really examine the need for scientific evidence to underpin policy. The two editors are pioneers in research and have led nursing research to new levels. It is fitting they do the same in underscoring the important role nurses have in using their programs of research to develop policy agendas."Score: 94, 4 stars --Doody's A must-read for health care policy makers, as well as nursing students, faculty, and professionals, this groundbreaking text provides actual strategies for translating nursing research to health policy at all levels of policy-making. The editors, both leaders in nursing research, provide key findings from research programs that have positively influenced health policy decisions and programs at community, state, national, and international levels. The first compilation of information linking health policy and nursing research, this text presents perspectives and frameworks for understanding the processes bridging research and health policy; multiple factors influencing the processes; and actual examples of National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)-funded research that has influenced health policy programs. Key Features: Examples of NINR-funded research that has been used at all levels to influence health policy, including settings, populations, and age spectrums Models and strategies for linking research and health policy Lessons learned from pioneer nurse scientists who have shaped health policy with nursing research Recommendations for improving nurses' work environments for better patient outcomes


Book Synopsis Shaping Health Policy Through Nursing Research by : Ada Sue Hinshaw, PhD, RN, FAAN

Download or read book Shaping Health Policy Through Nursing Research written by Ada Sue Hinshaw, PhD, RN, FAAN and published by Springer Publishing Company. This book was released on 2010-08-26 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Named a 2013 Doody's Core Title! 2011 AJN Book of the Year Winner in Nursing Research! "This is a much needed addition to nursing's arsenal of policy books. It is the first to really examine the need for scientific evidence to underpin policy. The two editors are pioneers in research and have led nursing research to new levels. It is fitting they do the same in underscoring the important role nurses have in using their programs of research to develop policy agendas."Score: 94, 4 stars --Doody's A must-read for health care policy makers, as well as nursing students, faculty, and professionals, this groundbreaking text provides actual strategies for translating nursing research to health policy at all levels of policy-making. The editors, both leaders in nursing research, provide key findings from research programs that have positively influenced health policy decisions and programs at community, state, national, and international levels. The first compilation of information linking health policy and nursing research, this text presents perspectives and frameworks for understanding the processes bridging research and health policy; multiple factors influencing the processes; and actual examples of National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)-funded research that has influenced health policy programs. Key Features: Examples of NINR-funded research that has been used at all levels to influence health policy, including settings, populations, and age spectrums Models and strategies for linking research and health policy Lessons learned from pioneer nurse scientists who have shaped health policy with nursing research Recommendations for improving nurses' work environments for better patient outcomes


Animals and the Shaping of Modern Medicine

Animals and the Shaping of Modern Medicine

Author: Abigail Woods

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-12-29

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 3319643371

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This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This book breaks new ground by situating animals and their diseases at the very heart of modern medicine. In demonstrating their historical significance as subjects and shapers of medicine, it offers important insights into past animal lives, and reveals that what we think of as ‘human’ medicine was in fact deeply zoological. Each chapter analyses an important episode in which animals changed and were changed by medicine. Ranging across the animal inhabitants of Britain’s zoos, sick sheep on Scottish farms, unproductive livestock in developing countries, and the tapeworms of California and Beirut, they illuminate the multi-species dimensions of modern medicine and its rich historical connections with biology, zoology, agriculture and veterinary medicine. The modern movement for One Health – whose history is also analyzed – is therefore revealed as just the latest attempt to improve health by working across species and disciplines. This book will appeal to historians of animals, science and medicine, to those involved in the promotion and practice of One Health today.


Book Synopsis Animals and the Shaping of Modern Medicine by : Abigail Woods

Download or read book Animals and the Shaping of Modern Medicine written by Abigail Woods and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-12-29 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This book breaks new ground by situating animals and their diseases at the very heart of modern medicine. In demonstrating their historical significance as subjects and shapers of medicine, it offers important insights into past animal lives, and reveals that what we think of as ‘human’ medicine was in fact deeply zoological. Each chapter analyses an important episode in which animals changed and were changed by medicine. Ranging across the animal inhabitants of Britain’s zoos, sick sheep on Scottish farms, unproductive livestock in developing countries, and the tapeworms of California and Beirut, they illuminate the multi-species dimensions of modern medicine and its rich historical connections with biology, zoology, agriculture and veterinary medicine. The modern movement for One Health – whose history is also analyzed – is therefore revealed as just the latest attempt to improve health by working across species and disciplines. This book will appeal to historians of animals, science and medicine, to those involved in the promotion and practice of One Health today.


Conflict of Interest in Medical Research, Education, and Practice

Conflict of Interest in Medical Research, Education, and Practice

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2009-09-16

Total Pages: 436

ISBN-13: 0309145449

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Collaborations of physicians and researchers with industry can provide valuable benefits to society, particularly in the translation of basic scientific discoveries to new therapies and products. Recent reports and news stories have, however, documented disturbing examples of relationships and practices that put at risk the integrity of medical research, the objectivity of professional education, the quality of patient care, the soundness of clinical practice guidelines, and the public's trust in medicine. Conflict of Interest in Medical Research, Education, and Practice provides a comprehensive look at conflict of interest in medicine. It offers principles to inform the design of policies to identify, limit, and manage conflicts of interest without damaging constructive collaboration with industry. It calls for both short-term actions and long-term commitments by institutions and individuals, including leaders of academic medical centers, professional societies, patient advocacy groups, government agencies, and drug, device, and pharmaceutical companies. Failure of the medical community to take convincing action on conflicts of interest invites additional legislative or regulatory measures that may be overly broad or unduly burdensome. Conflict of Interest in Medical Research, Education, and Practice makes several recommendations for strengthening conflict of interest policies and curbing relationships that create risks with little benefit. The book will serve as an invaluable resource for individuals and organizations committed to high ethical standards in all realms of medicine.


Book Synopsis Conflict of Interest in Medical Research, Education, and Practice by : Institute of Medicine

Download or read book Conflict of Interest in Medical Research, Education, and Practice written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2009-09-16 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Collaborations of physicians and researchers with industry can provide valuable benefits to society, particularly in the translation of basic scientific discoveries to new therapies and products. Recent reports and news stories have, however, documented disturbing examples of relationships and practices that put at risk the integrity of medical research, the objectivity of professional education, the quality of patient care, the soundness of clinical practice guidelines, and the public's trust in medicine. Conflict of Interest in Medical Research, Education, and Practice provides a comprehensive look at conflict of interest in medicine. It offers principles to inform the design of policies to identify, limit, and manage conflicts of interest without damaging constructive collaboration with industry. It calls for both short-term actions and long-term commitments by institutions and individuals, including leaders of academic medical centers, professional societies, patient advocacy groups, government agencies, and drug, device, and pharmaceutical companies. Failure of the medical community to take convincing action on conflicts of interest invites additional legislative or regulatory measures that may be overly broad or unduly burdensome. Conflict of Interest in Medical Research, Education, and Practice makes several recommendations for strengthening conflict of interest policies and curbing relationships that create risks with little benefit. The book will serve as an invaluable resource for individuals and organizations committed to high ethical standards in all realms of medicine.


Trust in the system

Trust in the system

Author: Adam Hedgecoe

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Published: 2020-12-15

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 1526152908

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Based on extensive observations, interviews, and archival research, this book provides an in-depth insight into one of the most crucial forms of regulation around medical research: Research Ethics Committees. Every month, groups of people from all over the United Kingdom decide what kind of research should be carried out on patients within the National Health Service. These groups – Research Ethics Committees (RECs) – made up of doctors, nurses, researchers, and members of the general public – help shape the future of medicine, and play a crucial role in the regulation of a wide range of research from social science to epidemiology, vaccine and drugs trials, and surgery. In providing one of the first empirical examinations of this kind of regulation, this book highlights how, despite the trappings of a modern regulatory system, REC decision making revolves around outdated aspects of social life. Hedgecoe argues that an accurate understanding of this kind of regulation requires an acceptance of the inherently social nature of the processes involved. In placing trust at the centre of ethics decision making, this book challenges the impersonal, de-socialised, and mechanical models of REC decision making that dominate mainstream accounts, and documents the subtle, messy, and complex way in which these bodies decide what kind of research should take place.


Book Synopsis Trust in the system by : Adam Hedgecoe

Download or read book Trust in the system written by Adam Hedgecoe and published by Manchester University Press. This book was released on 2020-12-15 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on extensive observations, interviews, and archival research, this book provides an in-depth insight into one of the most crucial forms of regulation around medical research: Research Ethics Committees. Every month, groups of people from all over the United Kingdom decide what kind of research should be carried out on patients within the National Health Service. These groups – Research Ethics Committees (RECs) – made up of doctors, nurses, researchers, and members of the general public – help shape the future of medicine, and play a crucial role in the regulation of a wide range of research from social science to epidemiology, vaccine and drugs trials, and surgery. In providing one of the first empirical examinations of this kind of regulation, this book highlights how, despite the trappings of a modern regulatory system, REC decision making revolves around outdated aspects of social life. Hedgecoe argues that an accurate understanding of this kind of regulation requires an acceptance of the inherently social nature of the processes involved. In placing trust at the centre of ethics decision making, this book challenges the impersonal, de-socialised, and mechanical models of REC decision making that dominate mainstream accounts, and documents the subtle, messy, and complex way in which these bodies decide what kind of research should take place.


Evaluation of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Review Process

Evaluation of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Review Process

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2016-12-19

Total Pages: 165

ISBN-13: 0309450047

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The medical research landscape in the United States is supported by a variety of organizations that spend billions of dollars in government and private funds each year to seek answers to complex medical and public health problems. The largest government funder is the National Institutes of Health (NIH), followed by the Department of Defense (DoD). Almost half of DoD's medical research funding is administered by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). The mission of CDMRP is to foster innovative approaches to medical research in response to the needs of its stakeholdersâ€"the U.S. military, their families, the American public, and Congress. CDMRP funds medical research to be performed by other government and nongovernmental organizations, but it does not conduct research itself. The major focus of CDMRP funded research is the improved prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases, injuries, or conditions that affect service members and their families, and the general public. The hallmarks of CDMRP include reviewing applications for research funding using a two-tiered review process, and involving consumers throughout the process. Evaluation of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Review Process evaluates the CDMRP two-tiered peer review process, its coordination of research priorities with NIH and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and provides recommendations on how the process for reviewing and selecting studies can be improved.


Book Synopsis Evaluation of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Review Process by : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Download or read book Evaluation of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Review Process written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2016-12-19 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The medical research landscape in the United States is supported by a variety of organizations that spend billions of dollars in government and private funds each year to seek answers to complex medical and public health problems. The largest government funder is the National Institutes of Health (NIH), followed by the Department of Defense (DoD). Almost half of DoD's medical research funding is administered by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). The mission of CDMRP is to foster innovative approaches to medical research in response to the needs of its stakeholdersâ€"the U.S. military, their families, the American public, and Congress. CDMRP funds medical research to be performed by other government and nongovernmental organizations, but it does not conduct research itself. The major focus of CDMRP funded research is the improved prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases, injuries, or conditions that affect service members and their families, and the general public. The hallmarks of CDMRP include reviewing applications for research funding using a two-tiered review process, and involving consumers throughout the process. Evaluation of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs Review Process evaluates the CDMRP two-tiered peer review process, its coordination of research priorities with NIH and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and provides recommendations on how the process for reviewing and selecting studies can be improved.


Using Nursing Research to Shape Health Policy

Using Nursing Research to Shape Health Policy

Author: Patricia A. Grady, PhD, RN, FAAN

Publisher: Springer Publishing Company

Published: 2017-03-15

Total Pages: 414

ISBN-13: 0826170110

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Examining the crucial interrelationship between nursing research and health policy, this book presents examples of specific health care policy that has been influenced, implemented, or changed as a result of nursing research. It builds on the discussion of this relationship as described in the editors' earlier book, Shaping Health Policy through Nursing Research, named a Doody's Core Title in 2013 and an AJN Book of the Year in 2011. This current edition updates earlier information with new nursing research by esteemed scholars. It encompasses research related to major policy statements of the decade, including the IOM Future of Nursing report, the Affordable Care Act, and the Blueprint for Genomics in Nursing, and highlights how they have influenced, and will continue to influence, health policy. Written for multiple audiences including undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and nursing professionals, the book presents information on how science shapes health policy in general, models and strategies for linking research and health policy, and multiple examples of how major nursing research has influenced health policy. The text provides both a conceptual orientation and an operational approach to strategies linking research to policy and influencing policy makers at the organizational, community, state, national, and international levels. Key Features: Offers examples of cutting edge nursing research that provides a foundation for practice and policy Incorporates major policy directives of this decade and highlights how nursing research has influenced health policy Demonstrates to undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and nursing professionals how nursing research can shape health policy decisions Includes perspectives, models and strategies for using nursing research to influence health policy Addresses how nursing research shapes policy at organizational, community, state, national, and international levels


Book Synopsis Using Nursing Research to Shape Health Policy by : Patricia A. Grady, PhD, RN, FAAN

Download or read book Using Nursing Research to Shape Health Policy written by Patricia A. Grady, PhD, RN, FAAN and published by Springer Publishing Company. This book was released on 2017-03-15 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examining the crucial interrelationship between nursing research and health policy, this book presents examples of specific health care policy that has been influenced, implemented, or changed as a result of nursing research. It builds on the discussion of this relationship as described in the editors' earlier book, Shaping Health Policy through Nursing Research, named a Doody's Core Title in 2013 and an AJN Book of the Year in 2011. This current edition updates earlier information with new nursing research by esteemed scholars. It encompasses research related to major policy statements of the decade, including the IOM Future of Nursing report, the Affordable Care Act, and the Blueprint for Genomics in Nursing, and highlights how they have influenced, and will continue to influence, health policy. Written for multiple audiences including undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and nursing professionals, the book presents information on how science shapes health policy in general, models and strategies for linking research and health policy, and multiple examples of how major nursing research has influenced health policy. The text provides both a conceptual orientation and an operational approach to strategies linking research to policy and influencing policy makers at the organizational, community, state, national, and international levels. Key Features: Offers examples of cutting edge nursing research that provides a foundation for practice and policy Incorporates major policy directives of this decade and highlights how nursing research has influenced health policy Demonstrates to undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and nursing professionals how nursing research can shape health policy decisions Includes perspectives, models and strategies for using nursing research to influence health policy Addresses how nursing research shapes policy at organizational, community, state, national, and international levels


The Market in Mind

The Market in Mind

Author: Mark Dennis Robinson

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2019-07-23

Total Pages: 325

ISBN-13: 0262536870

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A critical examination of translational medicine, when private risk is transferred to the public sector and university research teams become tech startups for global investors. A global shift has secretly transformed science and medicine. Starting in 2003, biomedical research in the West has been reshaped by the emergence of translational science and medicine—the idea that the aim of research is to translate findings as quickly as possible into medical products. In The Market in Mind, Mark Dennis Robinson charts this shift, arguing that the new research paradigm has turned university research teams into small biotechnology startups and their industry partners into early-stage investment firms. There is also a larger, surprising consequence from this shift: according to Robinson, translational science and medicine enable biopharmaceutical firms, as part of a broader financial strategy, to outsource the riskiest parts of research to nonprofit universities. Robinson examines the implications of this new configuration. What happens, for example, when universities absorb unknown levels of risk? Robinson argues that in the years since the global financial crisis translational science and medicine has brought about “the financialization of health.” Robinson explores such topics as shareholder anxiety and industry retreat from Alzheimer's and depression research; how laboratory research is understood as health innovation even when there is no product; the emergence of investor networking events as crucial for viewing science in a market context; and the place of patients in research decisions. Although translational medicine justifies itself by the goal of relieving patients' suffering, Robinson finds patients' voices largely marginalized in translational neuroscience.


Book Synopsis The Market in Mind by : Mark Dennis Robinson

Download or read book The Market in Mind written by Mark Dennis Robinson and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2019-07-23 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A critical examination of translational medicine, when private risk is transferred to the public sector and university research teams become tech startups for global investors. A global shift has secretly transformed science and medicine. Starting in 2003, biomedical research in the West has been reshaped by the emergence of translational science and medicine—the idea that the aim of research is to translate findings as quickly as possible into medical products. In The Market in Mind, Mark Dennis Robinson charts this shift, arguing that the new research paradigm has turned university research teams into small biotechnology startups and their industry partners into early-stage investment firms. There is also a larger, surprising consequence from this shift: according to Robinson, translational science and medicine enable biopharmaceutical firms, as part of a broader financial strategy, to outsource the riskiest parts of research to nonprofit universities. Robinson examines the implications of this new configuration. What happens, for example, when universities absorb unknown levels of risk? Robinson argues that in the years since the global financial crisis translational science and medicine has brought about “the financialization of health.” Robinson explores such topics as shareholder anxiety and industry retreat from Alzheimer's and depression research; how laboratory research is understood as health innovation even when there is no product; the emergence of investor networking events as crucial for viewing science in a market context; and the place of patients in research decisions. Although translational medicine justifies itself by the goal of relieving patients' suffering, Robinson finds patients' voices largely marginalized in translational neuroscience.


Communities in Action

Communities in Action

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2017-04-27

Total Pages: 583

ISBN-13: 0309452961

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In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.


Book Synopsis Communities in Action by : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Download or read book Communities in Action written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2017-04-27 with total page 583 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.