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.

Considers health of the body, mind, and spirit, offering advice on how to make sense of contradictory media information, understand the link between mental and physical health, and recruit support during illness.

The anthrax incidents following the 9/11 terrorist attacks put the spotlight on the nation's public health agencies, placing it under an unprecedented scrutiny that added new dimensions to the complex issues considered in this report. The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century reaffirms the vision of Healthy People 2010, and outlines a systems approach to assuring the nation's health in practice, research, and policy. This approach focuses on joining the unique resources and perspectives of diverse sectors and entities and challenges these groups to work in a concerted, strategic way to promote and protect the public's health. Focusing on diverse partnerships as the framework for public health, the book discusses: The need for a shift from an individual to a population-based approach in practice, research, policy, and community engagement. The status of the governmental public health infrastructure and what needs to be improved, including its interface with the health care delivery system. The roles nongovernment actors, such as academia, business, local communities and the media can play in creating a healthy nation. Providing an accessible analysis, this book will be important to public health policy-makers and practitioners, business and community leaders, health advocates, educators and journalists.

Published to coincide with the Fourth United Nations Environmental Assembly, UN Environment's sixth Global Environment Outlook calls on decision makers to take bold and urgent action to address pressing environmental issues in order to protect the planet and human health. By bringing together hundreds of scientists, peer reviewers and collaborating institutions and partners, the GEO reports build on sound scientific knowledge to provide governments, local authorities, businesses and individual citizens with the information needed to guide societies to a truly sustainable world by 2050. GEO-6 outlines the current state of the environment, illustrates possible future environmental trends and analyses the effectiveness of policies. This flagship report shows how governments can put us on the path to a truly sustainable future - emphasising that urgent and inclusive action is needed to achieve a healthy planet with healthy people. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

From clean drinking water, to seat belts, to immunizations, the impact of public health on every individual is undeniable. For undergraduates, an understanding of the foundations of public health is an essential step toward becoming an educated citizen. Public Health 101 provides a big-picture, population perspective on the determinants of health and disease and the tools available to protect and promote health. It examines the full range of options for intervention including use of the healthcare system, the public health system, and society-wide systems such as laws and taxation.

From clean drinking water, to seat belts, to immunizations, the impact of public health on every individual is undeniable. For undergraduates, an understanding of the foundations of public health is an essential step toward becoming an educated citizen. Public Health 101: Healthy People––Healthy Populations provides a big-picture, population perspective on the determinants of health and disease and the tools available to protect and promote health. It examines the full range of options for intervention including use of the healthcare system, the public health system, and society-wide systems such as laws and taxation. Through case studies, vignettes, and extensive examples, readers will come away with a clear understanding of how public health affects them in their everyday lives. They will learn and apply frameworks for thinking about the issues of public health and gain a deeper understanding about the health news they are exposed to each day. Key Features: Public Health 101 fully implements the curriculum framework, learning objectives, and “enduring understandings” of undergraduate public health education as recommended by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)* and the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR). Frameworks for thinking, checklists, and step-by-step examples provide students with hands-on practice. Case studies, vignettes, and extensive illustrations reinforce the materials and provide interactive exercises for classroom discussions, homework, and examinations. A full package of instructor resources is available online at http://publichealth.jbpub.com/essential/riegelman. * To learn more about the AAC&U initiative, The Educated Citizen and Public Health, or to download the curriculum guide, log on to: www.aacu.org/public_health. Looking for more real-life evidence? Check out Essential Case Studies in Public Health, Putting Public Health into Practice.

Healthy people have habits that contribute to their overall vitality and wellness. The things they do give them resilience, mental clarity, boundless energy, proper body weight, and the ability to effectively deal with stress. In a nutshell, healthy habits contribute to a healthy life. When it comes to healthy habits, eating is powerful. What we eat, how we eat, and when we eat all matter. Mastering daily food habits is a tool we can use to create culinary resilience-the ultimate wellness benefit. When we give our bodies what they need to thrive, we are rewarded with a strong immune system, lower inflammation, and lots of feel-good hormones. We all need to trade habits that do not serve us for habits that do. When we understand that our food practices are opportunities to fuel our health and happiness, we can be more mindful of our choices. How Healthy People Eat is a kitchen companion filled with little bites of information to motivate, inspire, and empower you to develop culinary resilience by using food as your superpower. One morsel at a time we can change our wellness destiny. By creating better habits, we can reset our health to the factory settings with which we were born and eat in a way that supports looking, feeling, and being well. Think of this little book as the first bite to help you harness the nutritive power on the end of your fork.

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.