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Global Health: An Introductory Textbook
This book addresses the health of the whole world. Many simplifications were required for it to fit into a single textbook for students wanting to: 1) get an understanding of how the health of the world's population has changed over time; 2) learn about the main determinants for health; 3) how health can be measured and what the main idicators are for health and illness; 4)learn about what is causing illness, disability and death for large numbers of poeple; 5) to be acquainted with models and structures for health care around the world. The book is written from a public health perspective and shows the close link between health and social realities, money and the environment.
328 pages, Paperback
First published November 20, 2006
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March 17, 2018
I read this book during my studies in International Health. That was years ago, and I have been meaning to read the whole book ever since. I finally did it and I’m glad I did. The book is very fact based and not here for old truths and myths regarding the health situation in the world (no, I did not notice that Hans Rosling was one of the co-authors… not at all).
I love the very first chapter explaining from the beginning of time ‘til today how the world became what it is when it comes to infectious diseases and non-infectious diseases (and how the divide is actually not as clear as we think). It is also good to establish how the decrease of infectious diseases in Europe is not so much being more “clever” or “better” but actually being an a**hole and a bully. It’s important to know this to correct it. Having delusion of grandeur helps no one…
Anyway, I wish the statistics would have been more up to date. I think my copy is from like 2006 (I took the course in like 2012) and the data was often from 2002. A lot has happened health-wise. But the book was not just about the current situation, it was about the bigger picture.
I do wish the parts about obesity could have been handled a little bit better. Yes, people become fatter. Yes, it is not nutritious. We talk about infectious diseases as preventable but in the end not our fault. But when we talk about obesity we REALLY talk about it being preventable and super-duper-mega our fault if it happens. Not that the book was like that but considering how the topic is handled world-wide it is important to not put someone’s value in their size or the amount of nutrition they have (also, unless you have tested an individual, you have NO idea how healthy they are, obese or not). Rant of the day.
To conclude, this is one of the better books I had during my bachelor’s degree (I had many good books but this is not just information, it’s information I can USE). I hope it will be updated (maybe it has) and that more people will have it during their studies.
I love the very first chapter explaining from the beginning of time ‘til today how the world became what it is when it comes to infectious diseases and non-infectious diseases (and how the divide is actually not as clear as we think). It is also good to establish how the decrease of infectious diseases in Europe is not so much being more “clever” or “better” but actually being an a**hole and a bully. It’s important to know this to correct it. Having delusion of grandeur helps no one…
Anyway, I wish the statistics would have been more up to date. I think my copy is from like 2006 (I took the course in like 2012) and the data was often from 2002. A lot has happened health-wise. But the book was not just about the current situation, it was about the bigger picture.
I do wish the parts about obesity could have been handled a little bit better. Yes, people become fatter. Yes, it is not nutritious. We talk about infectious diseases as preventable but in the end not our fault. But when we talk about obesity we REALLY talk about it being preventable and super-duper-mega our fault if it happens. Not that the book was like that but considering how the topic is handled world-wide it is important to not put someone’s value in their size or the amount of nutrition they have (also, unless you have tested an individual, you have NO idea how healthy they are, obese or not). Rant of the day.
To conclude, this is one of the better books I had during my bachelor’s degree (I had many good books but this is not just information, it’s information I can USE). I hope it will be updated (maybe it has) and that more people will have it during their studies.
Displaying 1 of 1 review