Health Sociology

The Western world is undergoing a dramatic demographic shift. By 2020, for the first time in history, the number of people aged 65 and over will outnumber children aged five and under. But our systems are lagging woefully behind this new reality. In Extra Time, Camilla Cavendish embarks on a journey to understand how different countries are responding to these unprecedented challenges.

Why does a fish only bite another fish if no one else is watching? Why do people overshare online? Why do some people meet trivial insults with extreme violence? Why do so many gods have multiple eyes? Science writer John Whitfield shows how reputation helps answer all of these questions, and more. Listen to People Will Talk and discover how to polish your own reputation, understand what you hear about others, and make the most of both.

You’ve probably often wondered what happens behind closed doors in doctors’ offices, how you’re really perceived by the healthcare community, and how drug selection actually works. Retired pharmaceutical market account manager Dan Mariani provides a fascinating view of how the healthcare system works. Described within are surprising behind-the-scenes machinations with detailed insights into how you, as a consumer, can make better choices to bolster your health.

There are two main classes of medicinal preparations - herbal and pharmaceutical. Pharmaceutical drugs are either synthesized or refined substances. On the other hand, herbal medicine is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as labelled and final medicinal products containing parts of plants (underground or aerial), plant materials, or combinations of both, as their main active ingredient.

Every day we speak to ourselves and to each other, about ourselves and about others. Whether ruminating on a past event alone or gossiping with a group of friends, we move through life in a state of near-constant chatter - even during those moments we profess to wanting nothing more than some peace and quiet. So, why do we do it, and what purpose does talking serve? In this paean to conversation, neuroscientist Shane O'Mara encourages us to marvel at our brains distinct mechanisms for communicating.

By following all the evidence-based tips and practices provided in this guide, you’ll gain all the knowledge you need to make healthier decisions for your gut. So you can stop starving yourself and start eating again, without fearing food.

Your share of your health insurance premium and the amount you are paying for your yearly deductible, co-pays, and prescriptions are soaring. Don’t forget that your employer’s share of your premium is coming out of your salary. And unfortunately, you are not alone. What can you do to avoid unnecessary costs and encourage American healthcare reform? Ripped Off! is your guide to better understanding the problems of the American healthcare system and what you can do for yourself and how to help enact change.

Appearance- and performance-enhancing drugs - specifically, anabolic steroids (APEDs) - provide a tempting competitive advantage for amateur baseball players. But this shortcut can exact a fatal cost on talented athletes. In his urgent book Suicide Squeeze, William Kashatus chronicles the experiences of Taylor Hooton and Rob Garibaldi, two promising high school baseball players who abused APEDs in the hopes of attracting professional scouts and Division I recruiters. However, as a result of their steroid abuse, they ended up taking their own lives.

Did you know that for the first time in US history, our children are not expected to live as long as we do? Did you know that the American life expectancy has declined for the past two out of three years? The reason - our American medical system is based on the prevention of death from disease rather than the prevention of disease itself. The American sickness-management system waits for you to get sick then scrambles to try to save your life leaving you with chronic symptoms, feeling fractured and unwhole.

The challenge of modern health care is to develop better organizations capable of delivering compassionate and individualized care on a grand scale while preserving the personal relationship between clinician and patient and the quality of care at the ward, operating room, clinic, or practice. Informed by extensive research and experience with systems all over the world, Richard Bohmer shows how organizations may transform by deploying a new workforce of clinical change leaders and how clinicians can take greater control over their own working environments.

After serving as a nurse in WW2, Molly Corbally joined the brand-new NHS and became one of the first official District Health Visitors, attending to mothers and babies from all walks of life in the picturesque village near Coventry she came to call home. Social work was uncharted territory at the time, and Britain was very much worse for wear - TB, polio, measles and whooping cough were just some of the hazards new babies faced. Social conditions could also add to the problems, when poverty and alcoholism were rife.

Random House presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Solitude by Michael Harris, read by Kerry Shale. Solitude is a rapidly vanishing experience. Our society now embraces sharing like never before: time alone is being forced out of our lives by the constant pings of smartphones and prods of social media. But what if being alone still has something to offer us - something we have forgotten, but that we still desperately need?

Sight Unseen reveals the cultural and biological realities of race, gender, and sexual orientation from the perspective of the blind. Through 10 case studies and dozens of interviews, Ellyn Kaschak taps directly into the phenomenology of race, gender, and sexual orientation among individuals born blind, along with the everyday epistemology of vision. Kaschak's work reveals not only how the blind create systems of meaning out of cultural norms but also how cultural norms inform our conscious and unconscious interactions with others regardless of our physical ability to see. She exposes gender, race, and sexual orientation as unconscious and pre-verbal in the sighted, an aspect of implicit bias.

The concepts in Neurology of Suggestion series are key to human transformation. These concepts start with traditional direct hypnosis methods and indirect suggestion hypnotherapy then incorporates recent findings in mind/body health, modern neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and a touch of Tibetan Buddhism. Our goal was to find a comprehensive transformation technology that is logical, science-based, but easy to master quickly.

In The Progress Paradox, Gregg Easterbrook draws upon three decades of wide-ranging research and thinking to make the persuasive assertion that almost all aspects of Western life have vastly improved in the past century—and yet today, most men and women feel less happy than in previous generations. Why this is so and what we should do about it is the subject of this book.

Losing a spouse is like waking up in a nightmare that never ends. Your own grief is hard enough to deal with, but it can feel like a daunting and impossible task when you have children to raise in the midst of the loss. In this inspiring guide to living again after the loss of a spouse, Dr. Roneisa Matero will inspire and empower you through her "Courage Process". She will share the techniques she learned while going through her own journey with grief after losing her husband.

Former White House director of economic policy Todd G. Buchholz is also a Harvard professor and co-producer of the smash Broadway hit Jersey Boys. In Rush, Buchholz lays out a bold premise: rest and relaxation aren’t the keys to happiness, as so many Zenadhering “Edenists” would propose. Instead, it’s the drive to perform that provides meaning and makes people happier, healthier, and more successful individuals.

Unlock the secret to optimal gut health with Gut Health for Women! This dynamic guide takes a deep dive into the unique challenges women face when it comes to digestive wellness. From the gut-brain connection and the impact of hormones, to the benefits of exercise, probiotics, and fermented foods, this book covers it all!

Today, chronic conditions are responsible for 90 percent of the country's health-care costs, but the 180 million Americans living with these conditions are overwhelmed by the confusion and complexity embedded throughout the system. In an era when we have been given a wide range of tools, apps, and services that make every aspect of our lives more convenient, consumers are anticipating a similar spirit of innovation to make their health care simpler, easier, and more affordable.

This 25th Anniversary edition completely updates the powerful insights and policy recommendations of Not What the Doctor Ordered, first published in 1993 by renowned healthcare futurist and medical economist the author. It presents specific solutions to serious problems of cost, quality, access, and outcomes by allowing all Americans to purchase services directly from caregivers who provide an expanding array of medical services at least as well as physicians—at lower cost.