Well : what we need to talk about when we talk about health

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Title:

Well : what we need to talk about when we talk about health

Author:

Galea, Sandro author.

ISBN:

9780190916831

Personal Author:

Galea, Sandro author.

Physical Description:

xxi, 274 pages ; 22 cm

General Note:

Source of cataloging data: WCP

Abstract:

"A deeply affecting work from one of the important and innovative voices in American health and medicine." -Arianna Huffington, physician Sandro Galea examines what Americans miss when they fixate on healthcare: health. Americans spend more money on health than people anywhere else in the world. And what do they get for it? Statistically, not much. Americans today live shorter, less healthy lives than citizens of other rich countries, and these trends show no signs of letting up. The problem, Sandro Galea argues, is that Americans focus on the wrong things when they think about health. Our national understanding of what constitutes "being well" is centered on medicine -- the lifestyles we adopt to stay healthy, the insurance plans and prescriptions we fall back on when we're not. And while all these things are important, they've not proven to be the difference between healthy and unhealthy on the large scale. Well is a radical examination of the subtle and not-so-subtle factors that determine who gets to be healthy in America. Galea shows how the country's failing health is a product of American history and character -- and how refocusing on our national health can usher enlightenment across American life and politics."-- Provided by publisher.

"In a stirring and radical new treatise from one of America's most respected voices in health and medicine, Well examines the subtle factors that determine who gets to be healthy in the United States. Physician Sandro Galea reckons with our country's many fraught relationships--with history, money, pain, and pleasure, which are in turn augmented by factors like luck, compassion, and values--in terms of how they determine the health of those in the world's richest country. Well represents a radical new approach to Americans' ingrained understanding of health. It examines the forces that are not typically part of the health discussion--but should be--and is a clarion call for where the country goes from here"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: -- Introduction -- Chapter 1. Past -- Chapter 2. Money -- Chapter 3. Power -- Chapter 4. Politics -- Chapter 5. Place -- Chapter 6. People -- Chapter 7. Love and Hate -- Chapter 8. Compassion -- Chapter 9. Knowledge -- Chapter 10. Humility -- Chapter 11. Freedom -- Chapter 12. Choice -- Chapter 13. Luck -- Chapter 14. The Many -- Chapter 15. The Few -- Chapter 16. The Public Good -- Chapter 17. Fairness and Justice -- Chapter 18. Pain and Pleasure -- Chapter 19. Death -- Chapter 20. Values.

Subject Term:

Public health -- United States.

Medical care -- United States.

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
Searching... Aurora Fox Valley	Book	RA445 .G35 2019	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

In Well, physician Sandro Galea examines what Americans miss when they fixate on healthcare: health. Americans spend more money on health than people anywhere else in the world. And what do they get for it? Statistically, not much. Americans today live shorter, less healthy lives than citizens of other rich countries, and these trends show no signs of letting up.The problem, Sandro Galea argues, is that Americans focus on the wrong things when they think about health. Our national understanding of what constitutes "being well" is centered on medicine - the lifestyles we adopt to stay healthy, and the insurance plans and prescriptions we fall back on when we're not. While all these things are important, they've not proven to be the difference between healthy and unhealthy on the large scale. Well is a radical examination of the subtle and not-so-subtle factors that determine who gets to be healthy in America. Galea shows how the country's failing health is a product of American history and character -- and how refocusing on our national health can usher enlightenment across American life and politics.

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

An epidemiologist reframes the American health care crisis.Born in Malta and raised in Canada, Galea (Dean, Boston Univ. School of Public Health; Healthier: Fifty Thoughts on the Foundations of Population Health, 2017, etc.) has traveled the world treating patients in remote areas, experiences that shaped his impressions of what truly influences health and health care, two aspects of medicine that are often conflated. He underscores global statistical trends revealing that despite leading investments in health prevention, Americans still fall short on worldwide illness ratios. Galea faults a society that "is simply not oriented to keep[ing] us healthy" and seeks to gain a better understanding of how to achieve ultimate vitality and longevity. He offers a reassessment of the many elements of sustainable health and wellness, examining a wide variety of external, interconnected forces. While acknowledging that some influencese.g., intergenerational factors and certain environmental conditionsare unavoidable, he intensively addresses the building blocks of sustainable health while putting allegories and pop-culture references to effective use. These key pieces include creating solid financial foundations, including the use of redistributive economic programs; resisting corruption in high-level political and corporate arenas; encouraging the establishment of tightknit community networks; cultivating emotional well-being; advocating for knowledgeable personal choices that resist negative influences from social media networks, advertising, and "social contagion." Galea believes that all of these forces collectively affect the healthfulness of Americans and that each plays a role in fostering an important brand of preventative medicine that can be cultivated at home. He implores readers to take the steps to change their minds and bodies now rather than relying on medicine or chronically seeing doctors after we are already ill. While some areas of the author's research may seem like wishful thinking in today's world of greed, violence, and class inequities, his hopes for a healthier populace make for a compassionate, relevant book.Sharp, optimistic, and factually supported encouragement to boost societal attitudes about the power of salubrity. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Preface	p. xi
Introduction	p. xiii
1 The Past	p. 1
2 Money	p. 11
3 Power	p. 21
4 Politics	p. 33
5 Place	p. 45
6 People	p. 55
7 Love and Hate	p. 67
8 Compassion	p. 77
9 Knowledge	p. 87
10 Humility	p. 97
11 Freedom	p. 109
12 Choice	p. 121
13 Luck	p. 133
14 The Many	p. 143
15 The Few	p. 153
16 The Public Good	p. 165
17 Fairness and Justice	p. 173
18 Pain and Pleasure	p. 181
19 Death	p. 191
20 Values	p. 199
Acknowledgments	p. 211
References	p. 213
Index	p. 263

SD_ILS:283493

Galea, Sandro author.

2019

Well : what we need to talk about when we talk about health

9780190916831

Well : what we need to talk about when we talk about health

M03400064829

Available:*

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Summary

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

Table of Contents