Download or read book Social Epidemiology written by Lisa F. Berkman and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2000-03-09 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book shows the important links between social conditions and health and begins to describe the processes through which these health inequalities may be generated. It reviews a range of methodologies that could be used by health researchers in this field and proposes innovative future research directions.

Download or read book The Health Gap written by Michael Marmot and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-09-10 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Punchily written ... He leaves the reader with a sense of the gross injustice of a world where health outcomes are so unevenly distributed' Times Literary Supplement 'Splendid and necessary' Henry Marsh, author of Do No Harm, New Statesman There are dramatic differences in health between countries and within countries. But this is not a simple matter of rich and poor. A poor man in Glasgow is rich compared to the average Indian, but the Glaswegian's life expectancy is 8 years shorter. The Indian is dying of infectious disease linked to his poverty; the Glaswegian of violent death, suicide, heart disease linked to a rich country's version of disadvantage. In all countries, people at relative social disadvantage suffer health disadvantage, dramatically so. Within countries, the higher the social status of individuals the better is their health. These health inequalities defy usual explanations. Conventional approaches to improving health have emphasised access to technical solutions – improved medical care, sanitation, and control of disease vectors; or behaviours – smoking, drinking – obesity, linked to diabetes, heart disease and cancer. These approaches only go so far. Creating the conditions for people to lead flourishing lives, and thus empowering individuals and communities, is key to reduction of health inequalities. In addition to the scale of material success, your position in the social hierarchy also directly affects your health, the higher you are on the social scale, the longer you will live and the better your health will be. As people change rank, so their health risk changes. What makes these health inequalities unjust is that evidence from round the world shows we know what to do to make them smaller. This new evidence is compelling. It has the potential to change radically the way we think about health, and indeed society.

Download or read book Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well Being Research written by Alex C. Michalos and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-02-12 with total page 7347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The aim of this encyclopedia is to provide a comprehensive reference work on scientific and other scholarly research on the quality of life, including health-related quality of life research or also called patient-reported outcomes research. Since the 1960s two overlapping but fairly distinct research communities and traditions have developed concerning ideas about the quality of life, individually and collectively, one with a fairly narrow focus on health-related issues and one with a quite broad focus. In many ways, the central issues of these fields have roots extending to the observations and speculations of ancient philosophers, creating a continuous exploration by diverse explorers in diverse historic and cultural circumstances over several centuries of the qualities of human existence. What we have not had so far is a single, multidimensional reference work connecting the most salient and important contributions to the relevant fields. Entries are organized alphabetically and cover basic concepts, relatively well established facts, lawlike and causal relations, theories, methods, standardized tests, biographic entries on significant figures, organizational profiles, indicators and indexes of qualities of individuals and of communities of diverse sizes, including rural areas, towns, cities, counties, provinces, states, regions, countries and groups of countries.

Download or read book Educational Goods written by Harry Brighouse and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2018-01-24 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book, jointly authored by two distinguished philosophers and two prominent social scientists, has an ambitious aim: to improve decision-making in education policy. First they dive into the goals of education policy and explain the terms "educational goods" and "childhood goods," adding precision and clarity to the discussion of the distributive values that are essential for good decision-making about education. Then they provide a framework for individual decision-makers that enables them to combine values and evidence in the evaluation of educational policy options. Finally they delve into the particular policy issues of school finance, school accountability, and school choice, and they show how decision makers might approach them in the light of this decision-making framework. The authors are not advocated particular policy choices, however. The focus instead is a smart framework that will make it easier for policymakers (and readers) to identify and think through what they disagree with others about.

Download or read book Meritocracy and Economic Inequality written by Kenneth Arrow and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2018-06-26 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most Americans strongly favor equality of opportunity if not outcome, but many are weary of poverty's seeming immunity to public policy. This helps to explain the recent attention paid to cultural and genetic explanations of persistent poverty, including claims that economic inequality is a function of intellectual ability, as well as more subtle depictions of the United States as a meritocracy where barriers to achievement are personal--either voluntary or inherited--rather than systemic. This volume of original essays by luminaries in the economic, social, and biological sciences, however, confirms mounting evidence that the connection between intelligence and inequality is surprisingly weak and demonstrates that targeted educational and economic reforms can reduce the income gap and improve the country's aggregate productivity and economic well-being. It also offers a novel agenda of equal access to valuable associations. Amartya Sen, John Roemer, Robert M. Hauser, Glenn Loury, Orley Ashenfelter, and others sift and analyze the latest arguments and quantitative findings on equality in order to explain how merit is and should be defined, how economic rewards are distributed, and how patterns of economic success persist across generations. Moving well beyond exploration, they draw specific conclusions that are bold yet empirically grounded, finding that schooling improves occupational success in ways unrelated to cognitive ability, that IQ is not a strong independent predictor of economic success, and that people's associations--their neighborhoods, working groups, and other social ties--significantly explain many of the poverty traps we observe. The optimistic message of this beautifully edited book is that important violations of equality of opportunity do exist but can be attenuated by policies that will serve the general economy. Policy makers will read with interest concrete suggestions for crafting economically beneficial anti-discrimination measures, enhancing educational and associational opportunity, and centering economic reforms in community-based institutions. Here is an example of some of our most brilliant social thinkers using the most advanced techniques that their disciplines have to offer to tackle an issue of great social importance.

Download or read book Socioeconomic Status Parenting and Child Development written by Marc H. Bornstein and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-04-04 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume presents cutting-edge thinking & research on linkages among SES, parenting & child development. The authors represent an array of different disciplines, & they approach the issues of SES parenting & child dev. from a variety of perspectives.

Download or read book Social Inequalities and Cancer written by Manolis Kogevinas and published by Iarc. This book was released on 1997 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In both industrialized and lessdeveloped societies, cancer incidence and survival are related to socioeconomic factors. This fascinating volume, the first to examine the magnitude of these socioeconomic differences in relation to cancer, provides vital information for all those interested in public health. Cancer incidence and survival are related to socioeconomic status in both industrialized and less developed countries. These differences can be explained, in part, by known risk factors, particularly tobacco smoke, occupational exposures, reproductive behaviour, diet and biological agents. T.

Download or read book Guidance for the National Healthcare Disparities Report written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2002-10-25 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Agency for Healthcare Research Quality commissioned the Institute of Medicine establish a committee to provide guidance on the National Healthcare Disparities Report is of access to health care, utilization of services, and the services received. The committee was asked to con population characteristics as race and ethnicity, society status, and geographic location. It was also asked to examine factors that included possible data sources and types of measures for the report.

Download or read book Recasting Egalitarianism written by Samuel Bowles and published by Verso. This book was released on 1998 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a major work on economic and social policy, two prominent economists lead a debate to redistribute wealth. The book lays out the underlying logic of this proposal in detail, followed by responses by both critics and supporters.

Download or read book A Life Course Approach to Chronic Disease Epidemiology written by Diana Kuh and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2004-04 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From reviews of the previous edition:'We still have much to learn if disease patterns are to be explained by taking a life course approach... this book provides strong arguments for this approach... the book is a highly qualified starting point for the debate... it will remain a useful summary of pioneer research of huge potential importance for public health.' -Epidemiology'This is not just another epidemiology textbook. It is essential reading for anyone with an active mind who is interested in public health.' -Journal of Public Health Medicine'A truly exciting and extremely informative endeavour for anyone interested in the determinants of human health and disease. This discussion is at the core of current public health issues.' -European Journal of Public Health'The conclusion is of major importance to public health policy. It reinforces the need for a life course strategy, with attention being paid to the mother, baby, child adolescent, and elderly person.' -BMJ'Provokes thought about the origins of chronic diseases, suggests new approaches to identifying particular susceptible individuals and encourages the identification of optimal points in the life course for possible preventive interventions.' -Chronic Diseases in CanadaThe first edition in 1997 of A life course approach to chronic disease epidemiology became a classic text for epidemiological and public health researchers interested in the childhood origins of adult chronic disease. Since then the new field of life course epidemiology has expanded rapidly, attracting the interest not only of academics across the health and social sciences but also policy makers, funding bodies, and the general public. Its purpose is to study how biological and social factors during gestation, childhood, adolescence and earlier adult life independently, cumulatively and interactively influence later life health and disease.Contributors to this fully revised second edition capture the excitement of the developing field and assess the latest evidence regarding sources of risk to health across the life course and across generations. The original chapters on life course influences on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, blood pressure, respiratory disease and cancer have been updated and extended. New chapters on life course influences on obesity, biological ageing and neuropsychiatric disorders have been added. Life course explanations for disease trends and for socioeconomic differentials in disease risk are given more attention in this new edition, reflecting recent developments in the field. The section on policy implications has been expanded, assessing the role of interventions to improve childhood social circumstances, as well as interventions to improve early growth. Emerging new research themes and the theoretical and methodological challenges facing life course epidemiology are highlighted.Readership: Epidemiologists, public health researchers, public health policy makers for developed and developing countries, sociologists and biologists, psychiatrists and social and chronic disease epidemiologists

Download or read book Socioeconomic Inequality and Educational Outcomes written by Markus Broer and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open-access book focuses on trends in educational inequality using twenty years of grade 8 student data collected from 13 education systems by the IEAs Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) between 1995 and 2015. While the overall positive association between family socioeconomic status (SES) and student achievement is well documented in the literature, the magnitude of this relationship is contingent on social contexts and is expected to vary by education system. Research on how such associations differ across societies and how the strength of these relationships has changed over time is limited. This study, therefore, addresses an important research and policy question by examining changes in the inequality of educational outcomes due to SES over this 20-year period, and also examines the extent to which the performance of students from disadvantaged backgrounds has improved over time in each education system. Education systems generally aim to narrow the achievement gap between low- and high-SES students and to improve the performance of disadvantaged students. However, the lack of quantifiable and comprehensible measures makes it difficult to assess and monitor the effect of such efforts. In this study, a novel measure of SES that is consistent across all TIMSS cycles allows students to be categorized into different socioeconomic groups. This measure of SES may also contribute to future research using TIMSS trend data. Readers will gain new insight into how educational inequality has changed in the education systems studied and how such change may relate to the more complex picture of macroeconomic changes in those societies.

Download or read book Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Health of Older Americans written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1997-09-23 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Older Americans, even the oldest, can now expect to live years longer than those who reached the same ages even a few decades ago. Although survival has improved for all racial and ethnic groups, strong differences persist, both in life expectancy and in the causes of disability and death at older ages. This book examines trends in mortality rates and selected causes of disability (cardiovascular disease, dementia) for older people of different racial and ethnic groups. The determinants of these trends and differences are also investigated, including differences in access to health care and experiences in early life, diet, health behaviors, genetic background, social class, wealth and income. Groups often neglected in analyses of national data, such as the elderly Hispanic and Asian Americans of different origin and immigrant generations, are compared. The volume provides understanding of research bearing on the health status and survival of the fastest-growing segment of the American population.

Download or read book Critical Perspectives on Racial and Ethnic Differences in Health in Late Life written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2004-10-16 with total page 753 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In their later years, Americans of different racial and ethnic backgrounds are not in equally good-or equally poor-health. There is wide variation, but on average older Whites are healthier than older Blacks and tend to outlive them. But Whites tend to be in poorer health than Hispanics and Asian Americans. This volume documents the differentials and considers possible explanations. Selection processes play a role: selective migration, for instance, or selective survival to advanced ages. Health differentials originate early in life, possibly even before birth, and are affected by events and experiences throughout the life course. Differences in socioeconomic status, risk behavior, social relations, and health care all play a role. Separate chapters consider the contribution of such factors and the biopsychosocial mechanisms that link them to health. This volume provides the empirical evidence for the research agenda provided in the separate report of the Panel on Race, Ethnicity, and Health in Later Life.

Download or read book The Cost of Racism for People of Color written by Alvin N. Alvarez and published by Cultural, Racial, and Ethnic P. This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Introduction -- Theoretical and methodological foundations -- A theoretical overview of the impact of racism on people of color / Alex Pieterse and Shantel Powell -- Applying intersectionality theory to research on perceived racism / Jioni A. Lewis and Patrick R. Grzanka -- Improving the measurement of perceived racial discrimination : challenges and opportunities / David R. Williams -- Moderators and mediators of the experience of perceived racism / Alvin Alvarez, Christopher T.H. Liang, Carin Molenaar, and David Nguyen -- Context and costs -- Racism and mental health : examining the link between racism and depression from a social-cognitive perspective / Elizabeth Brondolo, Wan Ng, Kristy-Lee J. Pierre, and Robert Lane -- Racism and behavioral outcomes over the life course / Gilbert C. Gee and Angie Denisse Otiniano Verissimo -- Racism and physical health disparities / Joseph Keaweaimoku Kaholokula -- The impact of racism on education and the educational experiences of students of color / Adrienne D. Dixson, Dominique Clayton, Leah Peoples, and Rema Reynolds -- The costs of racism on workforce entry and work adjustment / Justin C. Perry and Lela L. Pickett -- The impact of racism on communities of color : historical contexts and contemporary issues / Azara L. Santiago Rivera, Hector Y. Adames, Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas, and Gregory Benson-Flórez -- Interventions and future directions -- Racial trauma recovery : a race-informed therapeutic approach to racial wounds / Lillian Comas-Díaz -- Critical race, psychology and social policy : refusing damage, cataloguing oppression, and documenting desire / Michelle Fine and William E. Cross -- Educational interventions for reducing racism / Elizabeth Vera, Daniel Camacho, Megan Polanin, and Manuel Salgado -- Toward a relevant psychology of prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination : linking science and practice to develop interventions that work in community settings / Ignacio D. Acevedo-Polakovich, Kara L. Beck, Erin Hawks, and Sarah E. Ogdie

Download or read book Eliminating Health Disparities written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2004-08-09 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Disparities in health and health care across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds in the United States are well documented. The reasons for these disparities are, however, not well understood. Current data available on race, ethnicity, SEP, and accumulation and language use are severely limited. The report examines data collection and reporting systems relating to the collection of data on race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic position and offers recommendations.

Download or read book The Widening Gap written by Mary Shaw and published by Policy Press. This book was released on 1999-11-20 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume presents new evidence on the size of the health gap between different groups of people in Britain. It asks whether the government is concerned enough about reducing inequalities and highlights living conditions in the worst areas.

Download or read book The Measurement of Socio economic Status written by Verner Martin Sims and published by . This book was released on 1928 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: