Understanding The Global Dimensions Of Health

by Gunn, S. William; Mansourian, P. B.; Davies, A. M.; Piel, A.; Sayers, B. McA.

• ISBN13: 9780387241029
• ISBN10: 0387241027
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-07-19
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

"Health is not escaping the current bulldozer of 'globalization,' with its attendant benefits, errors, complications, and unknowns. Economic, social, political, environmental, behavioural, and even transcendental factors are being perceived as shaping the increasingly borderless world order, and societal structures, including the health professional, are finding themselves ill prepared for the changes...This book is an attempt to understand, explain and if possible act on the transformations....It is highly recommended as a welcome collection of level-headed analyses of the current confused transmutations in disease theory and health action" (Journal of Humanitarian Medicine, vol. IV, no. 4, October-December 2004). "With a free spirit, the authors examine the bioethical, socio-political and scientific aspects of health" (World Health Organization Quarterly News, October-December 2005). Health is a basic human right. But as our planet grows smaller, the number of people without even minimal care continues to rise. Understanding the Global Dimensions of Health brings into sharp focus the ethics and multiple questions involved in keeping the world in optimal health - and identifies the massive tasks that lie ahead. Twenty-one internationally known contributors examine the bioethical, sociopolitical and scientific aspects of health, epidemics, aging populations, the double burden of disease, food safety, and other major health concerns of well-being at the international level. Because exporting health care expertise abroad entails more than merely translating what we know, they meet the controversies head-on: - Are health technologies wisely used? - Can todaya??s medicine coexist with traditional views and cultural practices? - Will the configuration of health resources change as people live longer? - Why are pandemics not controlled better? - Who wins when health systems clash with sociopolitical systems? - Does globalization necessarily mean the westernization and homogenization of care? Fast changing conditions and recent catastrophic events demand answers to these and similar vital questions. The authors of Understanding the Global Dimensions of Health balance realism, optimism and social conscience in their coverage so health professionals, policymakers and leaders can address them - locally as well as globally.

Table of Contents

Introduction	xi
SECTION I. FUNDAMENTALS	1	(82)
Chapter 1 A Brief History of Advances Toward Health	3	(12)
J. Last
Chapter 2 The Health, Poverty, and Development Merry-Go-Round: The Tribulations of WHO	15	(20)
S. Litsios
Chapter 3 Old and New Pestilences	35	(20)
A.A. Arata
Chapter 4 Value Systems and Healthcare Ethics	55	(14)
B.M. Dickens
Chapter 5 World Health: A Mobilizing Utopia?	69	(14)
M. Manciaux, T.M. Fliedner
SECTION II. SYSTEMS	83	(74)
Chapter 6 Health Policies versus Public Policies	85	(18)
A. Wojtczah
Chapter 7 A Medicine Based on Evidence	103	(18)
J. Szczerban
Chapter 8 The Promise of Technology	121	(12)
P.B. Munsourian
Chapter 9 Critical Inquiries on Technology Utilization	133	(14)
A. Kazanjian
Chapter 10 Therapeutic Patient Education for Chronic Diseases	147	(10)
J.-P. Assal
SECTION III. THE DYNAMICS	157	(72)
Chapter 11 The Humanitarian Imperative in Major Health Crises and Disasters	159	(10)
S.W.A. Gunn
Chapter 12 Dealing with Global Infectious Disease Emergencies	169	(14)
D.L. Heymann
Chapter 13 Knowledge-based Methodologies in the Health Sector	183	(16)
B. McA. Sayers, J.J. Angulo
Chapter 14 Food Safety—A Pressing Public Health and Economic Issue	199	(14)
F. Käferstein
Chapter 15 Future Health in an Ageing World	213	(16)
A.M. Davies
SECTION IV. THE CONTROVERSIES	229	(52)
Chapter 16 Disease and Health in the Cultural Context	231	(10)
A. Jablensky
Chapter 17 Global Issues and Health Interactions: Reflexions from the South	241	(12)
A.P.R. Aluwihare
Chapter 18 The Coming Storm: Health System Planning Versus Free Market Enterprise	253	(14)
A. Piel
Chapter 19 Education, Understanding, and Eudaemonia: A Contrarian View on Global Health	267	(14)
G.W. Brauer
Postscript: The Present and the Future of Global Health	281	(6)
A.M. Davies
The Contributors	287	(6)
Index	293