Individual and Occupational Determinants


Book Description

There are individual and professional factors that have the greatest impact on the preservation of work ability for people of advanced age, and people with chronic health issues and disabilities. This text examines the demographic trends in the population and shows that proper functioning in their lives is only possible if people are provided with appropriate psychosocial and physical working conditions. This publication discusses physiological changes that occur with age and influence work performance. It presents the concept of applying the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) in order to assess the work ability of people with disabilities. It shows, using examples and case studies, that practical activities aimed at appropriate working conditions for people of advanced age, and people with health issues and disabilities, will have excellent work ability. Features Presents a comprehensive approach to workplace tolerance for people with health issues Offers an innovated in-depth evaluation of the Work Ability Index (WAI) Presents applying the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to access the work ability of people with disabilities Outlines actions that should be taken to maintain work ability for people of advanced age or with disabilities Provides real case studies and analysis. "Demographic changes, especially those related to aging, belong to the main changes occurring in the contemporary working environment. Thus, preserving work ability in the older population as well as [populations with] health concerns are among the most important challenges of today. Accordingly, the monograph fits into the most recent issues of [this] public health area, focusing on work ability in populations at risk of social exclusion, also occupational exclusion. These are older people, persons with chronic diseases and those with different types of disabilities. In my opinion, highlighting the problem of work ability in the context of aging by the authors, in such a broad understanding, is extremely valuable and useful and the presented research outcome is an authentic and very much expected contribution to the discussion on this issue. The topic has been thoroughly presented, which undoubtedly results from the interdisciplinarity of the group of authors including specialists in work physiology, physicians and physiotherapists. The monograph provides a very measurable and reliable knowledge in this field. Combining the theory with the presentation of the authors’ research outcomes is an unquestionable advantage of the monograph...". —Jolanta Walusiak-Skorupa, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Łódź, Poland




Communities in Action


Book Description

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.




Handbook of Socioeconomic Determinants of Occupational Health


Book Description

This anthology provides readers of scientific literature on socioeconomic factors and working conditions with the newest knowledge in this field. Since our world is subjected to constant change in accelerating speed, scientific reviews and updates are needed. Fortunately, research methodology in epidemiology, physiology, psychology and sociology is also developing rapidly and therefore the scientific community can provide politicians and policy makers with increasingly sophisticated and exact descriptions of societal factors in relation to work. The anthology starts in the macro level sphere – with international perspectives and reviews related to working conditions in relation to political change (the fall of the Soviet Union) gender, age, precarious employment, national economy and retirement. Two chapters relate to national policies and activities in international organizations. The second part of the book relates to the meso level sphere – with reviews on social patterns in distributions of psychosocial and physical risks at work in general as well as reviews on noise, shift work, under/overemployment, occupational physical activity, job intensity (which may be a particularly important problem in low income countries), digitization in modern work, climate change, childhood determinants of occupational health in adult years and theoretical models currently used in occupational epidemiology - demand/control, effort/reward, organizational justice, psychosocial safety climate, conflicts, bullying/harassment. This part of the book ends with two chapters on interventions (one chapter on the use of cultural interventions and one on interventions and their evaluation in general) and two chapters on financial aspects of poor/good work environments and evaluations of interventions. In the third part of the book the micro level is addressed. Here mechanisms translating working conditions into physiology are discussed. This starts in general theory relating basic theories regarding energy storage and release to psychosocial theory (extension of demand control theory). It also includes regeneration physiology, autonomic nervous system function, immunology and adverse behaviour. Sections in the Handbook: Macro-level determinants of occupational health: Akizumi Tsutsumi, Meso-level determinants of occupational health: Morten Wahrendorf and Jian Li, Micro-level determinants of occupational health: Bradley J. Wright




U.S. Health in International Perspective


Book Description

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.




The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century


Book Description

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.




Handbook of Disability, Work and Health


Book Description

This work presents a summary of research evidence on links between work, health and disability. Across two sections it summarizes updated knowledge on adverse effects of distinct occupational hazards, and it covers concerns with employment opportunities or restrictions. The handbook delivers an overview of material and psychosocial factors as occupational hazards on working people’s physical or mental health that may result in functional impairment and disability. This knowledge can be instrumental in strengthening efforts of professionals and other stakeholders to promote health-conducive working conditions and prevent work-related disability risks. It also covers concerns with employment opportunities or restrictions of persons with physical or mental health problems and disability. This field of interdisciplinary research has grown with a broad range of solid new findings that can have favorable impact on work disability prevention and the practice of medical and vocational rehabilitation. Prominent experts discuss this evidence for major manifestations of physical and mental health problems and disabilities. As a further innovative feature, this handbook integrates biomedical, psychological, and sociological knowledge on major aspects of the links between work, health and disability. It is therefore of interest to students and professionals in related disciplines, as well as for stakeholders involved in the prevention of work disability and rehabilitation into paid work. In times of an increasingly aging work force with elevated risks of reduced health and work functioning, this knowledge can contribute to turning the threats associated with disability into opportunities. This handbook supports the overall aim of enabling persons with (chronic) health problems and disability to participate in work and social life.




Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process


Book Description

As occupational therapy celebrates its centennial in 2017, attention returns to the profession's founding belief in the value of therapeutic occupations as a way to remediate illness and maintain health. The founders emphasized the importance of establishing a therapeutic relationship with each client and designing an intervention plan based on the knowledge about a client's context and environment, values, goals, and needs. Using today's lexicon, the profession's founders proposed a vision for the profession that was occupation based, client centered, and evidence based--the vision articulated in the third edition of the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process. The Framework is a must-have official document from the American Occupational Therapy Association. Intended for occupational therapy practitioners and students, other health care professionals, educators, researchers, payers, and consumers, the Framework summarizes the interrelated constructs that describe occupational therapy practice. In addition to the creation of a new preface to set the tone for the work, this new edition includes the following highlights: a redefinition of the overarching statement describing occupational therapy's domain; a new definition of clients that includes persons, groups, and populations; further delineation of the profession's relationship to organizations; inclusion of activity demands as part of the process; and even more up-to-date analysis and guidance for today's occupational therapy practitioners. Achieving health, well-being, and participation in life through engagement in occupation is the overarching statement that describes the domain and process of occupational therapy in the fullest sense. The Framework can provide the structure and guidance that practitioners can use to meet this important goal.




The Social Determinants of Mental Health


Book Description

The Social Determinants of Mental Health aims to fill the gap that exists in the psychiatric, scholarly, and policy-related literature on the social determinants of mental health: those factors stemming from where we learn, play, live, work, and age that impact our overall mental health and well-being. The editors and an impressive roster of chapter authors from diverse scholarly backgrounds provide detailed information on topics such as discrimination and social exclusion; adverse early life experiences; poor education; unemployment, underemployment, and job insecurity; income inequality, poverty, and neighborhood deprivation; food insecurity; poor housing quality and housing instability; adverse features of the built environment; and poor access to mental health care. This thought-provoking book offers many beneficial features for clinicians and public health professionals: Clinical vignettes are included, designed to make the content accessible to readers who are primarily clinicians and also to demonstrate the practical, individual-level applicability of the subject matter for those who typically work at the public health, population, and/or policy level. Policy implications are discussed throughout, designed to make the content accessible to readers who work primarily at the public health or population level and also to demonstrate the policy relevance of the subject matter for those who typically work at the clinical level. All chapters include five to six key points that focus on the most important content, helping to both prepare the reader with a brief overview of the chapter's main points and reinforce the "take-away" messages afterward. In addition to the main body of the book, which focuses on selected individual social determinants of mental health, the volume includes an in-depth overview that summarizes the editors' and their colleagues' conceptualization, as well as a final chapter coauthored by Dr. David Satcher, 16th Surgeon General of the United States, that serves as a "Call to Action," offering specific actions that can be taken by both clinicians and policymakers to address the social determinants of mental health. The editors have succeeded in the difficult task of balancing the individual/clinical/patient perspective and the population/public health/community point of view, while underscoring the need for both groups to work in a unified way to address the inequities in twenty-first century America. The Social Determinants of Mental Health gives readers the tools to understand and act to improve mental health and reduce risk for mental illnesses for individuals and communities. Students preparing for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) will also benefit from this book, as the MCAT in 2015 will test applicants' knowledge of social determinants of health. The social determinants of mental health are not distinct from the social determinants of physical health, although they deserve special emphasis given the prevalence and burden of poor mental health.




Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults


Book Description

Social isolation and loneliness are serious yet underappreciated public health risks that affect a significant portion of the older adult population. Approximately one-quarter of community-dwelling Americans aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated, and a significant proportion of adults in the United States report feeling lonely. People who are 50 years of age or older are more likely to experience many of the risk factors that can cause or exacerbate social isolation or loneliness, such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and sensory impairments. Over a life course, social isolation and loneliness may be episodic or chronic, depending upon an individual's circumstances and perceptions. A substantial body of evidence demonstrates that social isolation presents a major risk for premature mortality, comparable to other risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, or obesity. As older adults are particularly high-volume and high-frequency users of the health care system, there is an opportunity for health care professionals to identify, prevent, and mitigate the adverse health impacts of social isolation and loneliness in older adults. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults summarizes the evidence base and explores how social isolation and loneliness affect health and quality of life in adults aged 50 and older, particularly among low income, underserved, and vulnerable populations. This report makes recommendations specifically for clinical settings of health care to identify those who suffer the resultant negative health impacts of social isolation and loneliness and target interventions to improve their social conditions. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults considers clinical tools and methodologies, better education and training for the health care workforce, and dissemination and implementation that will be important for translating research into practice, especially as the evidence base for effective interventions continues to flourish.




A Framework for Educating Health Professionals to Address the Social Determinants of Health


Book Description

The World Health Organization defines the social determinants of health as "the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life." These forces and systems include economic policies, development agendas, cultural and social norms, social policies, and political systems. In an era of pronounced human migration, changing demographics, and growing financial gaps between rich and poor, a fundamental understanding of how the conditions and circumstances in which individuals and populations exist affect mental and physical health is imperative. Educating health professionals about the social determinants of health generates awareness among those professionals about the potential root causes of ill health and the importance of addressing them in and with communities, contributing to more effective strategies for improving health and health care for underserved individuals, communities, and populations. Recently, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop to develop a high-level framework for such health professional education. A Framework for Educating Health Professionals to Address the Social Determinants of Health also puts forth a conceptual model for the framework's use with the goal of helping stakeholder groups envision ways in which organizations, education, and communities can come together to address health inequalities.