Author Description
As A Country, The United States Overinvests In Medical Care, Often At The Expense Of The Social, Economic, And Cultural Forces That Produce Health. Indeed, The Rise Of Medicine As A Cornerstone Of American Life And Culture Has Coincided With A Social And Political Devaluation Of Factors Demonstrated To Mean More To One's Vitality Than Anything Else-influences Like Where One Lives, Works, And Plays; Livable Wages That Create Opportunity For Healthy Living; And Gender And Racial Equity. As Such, This Book Pushes The Conversation Around American Health Toward Matters Of Class, Money, And Culture. It Highlights How The Structural Components Of Everyday Life Ultimately Determine Who Gets To Be Healthy In Today's America. In Doing So, It Makes A Case For Reframing The Political Discourse On Public Health In Less Myopic, More Effectual Terms-- Provided By Publisher.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This book investigates why the United States prioritizes medical intervention over the social, economic, and cultural determinants that fundamentally shape population health. Sandro Galea, a physician and epidemiologist, and Michael Ashley Stein, a legal scholar, synthesize public health data and policy analysis to argue that American health outcomes are primarily driven by structural factors such as income, housing, and systemic equity. They contend that the current medical-centric model is insufficient and propose a shift toward addressing the root causes of health disparities to improve national vitality.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Analysis of social determinants including housing, employment, and wage stability.
- Examination of the political and cultural devaluation of non-medical health factors.
- Case studies linking racial and gender equity to long-term health outcomes.
- A framework for reframing public health discourse toward structural and economic reform.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Experts recognize this work as a significant contribution to the field of social medicine, noting its clear articulation of the limitations of the current US healthcare system. Readers frequently highlight the authors' ability to translate complex epidemiological data into a compelling argument for systemic policy change.
Page Count:
0
Publication Date:
2020-01-01
Publisher:
New York : Oxford University Press,
ISBN-10:
0197510418
ISBN-13:
9780197510414
Economics
Attitude To Health
Health Status
Social Determinants Of Health
Sociology
Medicine
Public Health
Social policy
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