info@woodslane.com.au
Contact us on (02) 8445 2300
For all customer service and order enquiries

WOODSLANE

Popular Subjects

Woodslane Online Catalogues

9780801893872 Add to Cart Academic Inspection Copy

Getting What We Deserve:

Health and Medical Care in America
Description
Table of
Contents
Reviews
Google
Preview
One of America's leading public health experts finds a host of ills in this country's health care system:The United States spends nearly twice as much on health care as the rest of the developed world, yet has higher infant mortality rates and shorter longevity than most nations.We have access to many different drugs that accomplish the same end at varying costs, and nearly all are cheaper abroad.Our life span doubled over the past century, before we developed effective drugs to treat most diseases or even considered altering the human genome.The benefits of almost all newly developed treatments are marginal, while their costs are high.In his blunt assessment of the state of public health in America.Alfred Sommer argues that human behavior has a stronger effect on wellness than almost any other factor.Despite exciting advances in genomic research and cutting-edge medicine, Sommer explains that most illness can be avoided or managed with simple, low-tech habits such as proper hand washing, regular exercise, a balanced diet, and not smoking. Sommer finds that our fascination with medical advances sometimes keeps us from taking responsibility for our individual well-being. Instead of focusing on prevention, we wait for medical science to cure us once we become sick.Humorous, sometimes acerbic, and always well informed, Sommer's thought-provoking book will change the way you look at health care in America.

Preface1. Genesis: From Few to Many'in Fits and Starts2. Disease Is the Sum of All Evils3. Genes: Sometimes ""Destiny,"" Sometimes Not4. The Complex Nature of Causality5. The Consequences of Our Own Behavior6. Choosing the Healthier Lifestyle7. From Science to Policy: The Path Is Anything but Linear8. The U.S. Health Care System9. Who's Healthy? Who's Not? Why?NotesFurther Reading, Films, and Websites of InterestIndex

""Alfred Sommer brings his vast global experience and applies his academic rigor and wit to look at contradictions inherent in the US health system, especially the disproportionate emphasis on expensive biomedical treatment of diseases over policy choices to invest in better social and economic environments that foster prevention and health promotion. This book is immensely timely, engaging and thought provoking'a must read.""

Google Preview content