Download or read book U S Health in International Perspective written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2013-04-12 with total page 421 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U.S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage.

Download or read book Health Care Comes Home written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2011-06-22 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the United States, health care devices, technologies, and practices are rapidly moving into the home. The factors driving this migration include the costs of health care, the growing numbers of older adults, the increasing prevalence of chronic conditions and diseases and improved survival rates for people with those conditions and diseases, and a wide range of technological innovations. The health care that results varies considerably in its safety, effectiveness, and efficiency, as well as in its quality and cost. Health Care Comes Home reviews the state of current knowledge and practice about many aspects of health care in residential settings and explores the short- and long-term effects of emerging trends and technologies. By evaluating existing systems, the book identifies design problems and imbalances between technological system demands and the capabilities of users. Health Care Comes Home recommends critical steps to improve health care in the home. The book's recommendations cover the regulation of health care technologies, proper training and preparation for people who provide in-home care, and how existing housing can be modified and new accessible housing can be better designed for residential health care. The book also identifies knowledge gaps in the field and how these can be addressed through research and development initiatives. Health Care Comes Home lays the foundation for the integration of human health factors with the design and implementation of home health care devices, technologies, and practices. The book describes ways in which the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and federal housing agencies can collaborate to improve the quality of health care at home. It is also a valuable resource for residential health care providers and caregivers.

Download or read book Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2020-05-14 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Social isolation and loneliness are serious yet underappreciated public health risks that affect a significant portion of the older adult population. Approximately one-quarter of community-dwelling Americans aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated, and a significant proportion of adults in the United States report feeling lonely. People who are 50 years of age or older are more likely to experience many of the risk factors that can cause or exacerbate social isolation or loneliness, such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and sensory impairments. Over a life course, social isolation and loneliness may be episodic or chronic, depending upon an individual's circumstances and perceptions. A substantial body of evidence demonstrates that social isolation presents a major risk for premature mortality, comparable to other risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, or obesity. As older adults are particularly high-volume and high-frequency users of the health care system, there is an opportunity for health care professionals to identify, prevent, and mitigate the adverse health impacts of social isolation and loneliness in older adults. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults summarizes the evidence base and explores how social isolation and loneliness affect health and quality of life in adults aged 50 and older, particularly among low income, underserved, and vulnerable populations. This report makes recommendations specifically for clinical settings of health care to identify those who suffer the resultant negative health impacts of social isolation and loneliness and target interventions to improve their social conditions. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults considers clinical tools and methodologies, better education and training for the health care workforce, and dissemination and implementation that will be important for translating research into practice, especially as the evidence base for effective interventions continues to flourish.

Download or read book The Human Factor written by Kim Vicente and published by Vintage Canada. This book was released on 2010-10-15 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What links the frustrations of daily life, like VCR clocks and voicemail systems, to airplane crashes and a staggering “hidden epidemic” of medical error? Kim Vicente is a professor of human factors engineering at the University of Toronto and a consultant to NASA, Microsoft, Nortel Networks and many other organizations; he might also be described as a “technological anthropologist.” He spends his time in emergency rooms, airplane cockpits and nuclear power station control rooms--as well as in kitchens, garages and bathrooms--observing how people interact with technology. Kim Vicente sets out the disturbing pattern he’s observed: from daily life to life-or-death situations, people are using technology that doesn’ t take the human factor into account. Technologies as diverse as stove tops, hospital work schedules and airline cockpit controls lead to ‘human error’ because they neglect what people are like physically, psychologically, and in more complex ways. The results range from inconvenience to tragic loss of life. Our civilization is at a crossroads: we have to change our relationship with technology to bring an end to technology-induced death and destruction, and start to improve the lives of everyone on the planet. The Human Factor sets out the ways we can regain control of our lives.

Download or read book Practical Human Factors for Pilots written by Capt. David Moriarty and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2014-12-30 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Practical Human Factors for Pilots bridges the divide between human factors research and one of the key industries that this research is meant to benefit—civil aviation. Human factors are now recognized as being at the core of aviation safety and the training syllabus that flight crew trainees have to follow reflects that. This book will help student pilots pass exams in human performance and limitations, successfully undergo multi-crew cooperation training and crew resource management (CRM) training, and prepare them for assessment in non-technical skills during operator and license proficiency checks in the simulator, and during line checks when operating flights. Each chapter begins with an explanation of the relevant science behind that particular subject, along with mini-case studies that demonstrate its relevance to commercial flight operations. Of particular focus are practical tools and techniques that students can learn in order to improve their performance as well as "training tips" for the instructor. Provides practical, evidence-based guidance on issues often at the root of aircraft accidents Uses international regulatory material Includes concepts and theories that have practical relevance to flight operations Covers relevant topics in a step-by-step manner, describing how they apply to flight operations Demonstrates how human decision-making has been implicated in air accidents and equips the reader with tools to mitigate these risks Gives instructors a reliable knowledge base on which to design and deliver effective training Summarizes the current state of human factors, training, and assessment

Download or read book Patient Safety and Quality written by Ronda Hughes and published by Department of Health and Human Services. This book was released on 2008 with total page 592 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Nurses play a vital role in improving the safety and quality of patient car -- not only in the hospital or ambulatory treatment facility, but also of community-based care and the care performed by family members. Nurses need know what proven techniques and interventions they can use to enhance patient outcomes. To address this need, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), with additional funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has prepared this comprehensive, 1,400-page, handbook for nurses on patient safety and quality -- Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. (AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043)." - online AHRQ blurb, http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nurseshdbk/

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.

Download or read book To Err Is Human written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2000-03-01 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Experts estimate that as many as 98,000 people die in any given year from medical errors that occur in hospitals. That's more than die from motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer, or AIDSâ€"three causes that receive far more public attention. Indeed, more people die annually from medication errors than from workplace injuries. Add the financial cost to the human tragedy, and medical error easily rises to the top ranks of urgent, widespread public problems. To Err Is Human breaks the silence that has surrounded medical errors and their consequenceâ€"but not by pointing fingers at caring health care professionals who make honest mistakes. After all, to err is human. Instead, this book sets forth a national agendaâ€"with state and local implicationsâ€"for reducing medical errors and improving patient safety through the design of a safer health system. This volume reveals the often startling statistics of medical error and the disparity between the incidence of error and public perception of it, given many patients' expectations that the medical profession always performs perfectly. A careful examination is made of how the surrounding forces of legislation, regulation, and market activity influence the quality of care provided by health care organizations and then looks at their handling of medical mistakes. Using a detailed case study, the book reviews the current understanding of why these mistakes happen. A key theme is that legitimate liability concerns discourage reporting of errorsâ€"which begs the question, "How can we learn from our mistakes?" Balancing regulatory versus market-based initiatives and public versus private efforts, the Institute of Medicine presents wide-ranging recommendations for improving patient safety, in the areas of leadership, improved data collection and analysis, and development of effective systems at the level of direct patient care. To Err Is Human asserts that the problem is not bad people in health careâ€"it is that good people are working in bad systems that need to be made safer. Comprehensive and straightforward, this book offers a clear prescription for raising the level of patient safety in American health care. It also explains how patients themselves can influence the quality of care that they receive once they check into the hospital. This book will be vitally important to federal, state, and local health policy makers and regulators, health professional licensing officials, hospital administrators, medical educators and students, health caregivers, health journalists, patient advocatesâ€"as well as patients themselves. First in a series of publications from the Quality of Health Care in America, a project initiated by the Institute of Medicine

Download or read book Human Factors in Aviation written by Eduardo Salas and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2010-01-30 with total page 747 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fully updated and expanded, the second edition of Human Factors in Aviation serves the needs of the widespread aviation community - students, engineers, scientists, pilots, managers and government personnel. Offering a comprehensive overview the volume covers topics such as pilot performance, human factors in aircraft design, vehicles and systems and NextGen issues. The need for an up-to-date, scienti?cally rigorous overview is underscored by the frequency with which human factors/crew error cause aviation accidents, pervasiveness of human error in safety breakdowns. Technical and communication advances, diminishing airspace and the priority of aviation safety all contribute to the generation of new human factors problems and the more extensive range of solutions. Now more than ever a solid foundation from which to begin addressing these issues is needed. New edition thoroughly updated with 50% new material, offering full coverage of NexGen and other modern issues Liberal use of case examples exposes students to real-world examples of dangers and solutions Website with study questions and image collection

Download or read book Human Factors in Process Operations written by Human Factors Study Group and published by Butterworth-Heinemann. This book was released on 1992 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Human Factors Methods for Design written by Christopher P. Nemeth and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2004-11-11 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An easy-to-use, in-depth manual, Human Factors Methods for Design supplies the how-tos for approaching and analyzing design problems and provides guidance for their solution. It draws together the basics of human behavior and physiology to provide a context for readers who are new to the field. The author brings in problem analysis, including test and evaluation methods and simple experimentation and recognizes the importance of cost-effectiveness. Finally, he emphasizes the need for good communication to get the new product understood and accepted. The author draws from his corporate experience as a research and development manager and his consulting practice in human factors and design.

Download or read book Genes Behavior and the Social Environment written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2006-12-07 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the past century, we have made great strides in reducing rates of disease and enhancing people's general health. Public health measures such as sanitation, improved hygiene, and vaccines; reduced hazards in the workplace; new drugs and clinical procedures; and, more recently, a growing understanding of the human genome have each played a role in extending the duration and raising the quality of human life. But research conducted over the past few decades shows us that this progress, much of which was based on investigating one causative factor at a time—often, through a single discipline or by a narrow range of practitioners—can only go so far. Genes, Behavior, and the Social Environment examines a number of well-described gene-environment interactions, reviews the state of the science in researching such interactions, and recommends priorities not only for research itself but also for its workforce, resource, and infrastructural needs.

Download or read book The Human Factor written by Graham Greene and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2008-09-30 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Maurice Castle is a high-level operative in the British secret service during the Cold War. He is deeply in love with his African wife, who escaped apartheid South Africa with the help of his communist friend. Despite his misgivings, Castle decides to act as a double agent, passing information to the Soviets to help his in-laws in South Africa. In order to evade detection, he allows his assistant to be wrongly identified as the source of the leaks. But when suspicions remain, Castle is forced to make an even more excruciating sacrifice to save himself. Originally published in 1978, The Human Factor is an exciting novel of espionage drawn from Greene’s own experiences in MI6 during World War II, and ultimately a deeply humanistic examination of the very nature of loyalty. This edition features a new introduction by Colm Tóibín. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Download or read book Ten Questions About Human Error written by Sidney Dekker and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2004-12-27 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ten Questions About Human Error asks the type of questions frequently posed in incident and accident investigations, people's own practice, managerial and organizational settings, policymaking, classrooms, Crew Resource Management Training, and error research. It is one installment in a larger transformation that has begun to identify both deep-rooted constraints and new leverage points of views of human factors and system safety. The ten questions about human error are not just questions about human error as a phenomenon, but also about human factors and system safety as disciplines, and where they stand today. In asking these questions and sketching the answers to them, this book attempts to show where current thinking is limited--where vocabulary, models, ideas, and notions are constraining progress. This volume looks critically at the answers human factors would typically provide and compares/contrasts them with current research insights. Each chapter provides directions for new ideas and models that could perhaps better cope with the complexity of the problems facing human error today. As such, this book can be used as a supplement for a variety of human factors courses.

Download or read book Human Factors in Simulation and Training written by Peter A. Hancock and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2008-12-17 with total page 470 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discussing issues and concepts relating to human factors in simulation, this book covers theory and application in fields such as space, ships, submarines, naval aviation, and commercial aviation. The authors develop and expand on concepts in simulator usage particularly specific characteristics and issues of simulation and their effect on the validity and functionality of simulators as a training device. The chapters contain in depth discussions of these particular characteristics and issues. They also incorporate theories pertaining to the motivational aspects of training, simulation of social events, and PC based simulation.

Download or read book Process Safety Management and Human Factors written by Waddah S. Ghanem Al Hashmi and published by Butterworth-Heinemann. This book was released on 2020-11-13 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Process Safety Management and Human Factors: A Practitioner's Experiential Approach addresses human factors in process safety management (PSM) from a reflective learning approach. The book is written by engineers and technical specialists who spent the last 15-20 years of their professional career looking at behavioral-based safety, human factor research, and safety culture development in organizations. It is a fundamental resource for operational, technical and safety managers in high-risk industries who need to focus on personal and occupational safety management to prevent safety accidents. Real-life examples illustrate how a good, effective understanding of human factors supports PSM and positive impacts on accident occurrence. Covers the evolution and background of process safety management Shows how to integrate and augment process safety management with operational excellence and health, safety and environment management systems Focuses on human factors in process safety management Includes many real-life case studies from the collective experience of the book's authors

Download or read book Medical Error and Patient Safety written by George A. Peters and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2007-11-01 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A difficult and recalcitrant phenomenon, medical error causes pervasive and expensive problems in terms of patient injury, ineffective treatment, and rising healthcare costs. Simple heightened awareness can help, but it requires organized, effective remedies and countermeasures that are reasonable, acceptable, and adaptable to see a truly significa