Synopses & Reviews
Two past presidents of the American Public Health Association have edited this book, on the ways in which social injustice causes and contributes to public health problems. Their previous books,
War and Public Health and errorism and Public Health, both dealt with specific issues of social injustice as they relate to public health. The current book addresses a broader set of issues in a more comprehensive manner.
This book defines social injustice as the denial or violation of economic, sociocultural, political, civil, or human rights of specific populations or groups in society. These groups are socially defined in terms of racial or ethnic status, language, country of origin, socioeconomic status, age, gender, sexual orientation or other perceived group characterisitics. Social injustice manifests in many ways ranging from various forms of overt discrimination to the wide gaps between the "haves" and the "have-nots" within a country or between richer and poorer countries. It increases the prevalence of risk factors and hazardous exposures, which in turn lead to higher rates of disease, injury, disability, and premature death.
Public health professionals as well as students need to have a clear understanding of social injustice in order to address these problems, but few books address such a wide range of issues. This book will enable readers to understand social injustice and will prepare them to recognize, document, investigate, and prevent social injustice and its effects on health. This book is organized so that health professionals, students in the health professions, and others will find it of practical value in public health and medical care, research, education, policy development, and advocacy.
Review
"...an invaluable primer on how inequity breeds ill health...It should be widely read by policymakers and practitioners looking for a passionate and scholarly review of societal changes that would avert enormous suffering."--New England Journal of Medicine
"Social Injustice and Public Health manages to meld the substance of an invaluable textbook with the feel of a good read."--California Nurse
"...an invaluable primer on how inequity breeds ill health...It should be widely read by policymakers and practitioners looking for a passionate and scholarly review of societal changes that would avert enormous suffering."--New England Journal of Medicine
"Social Injustice and Public Health manages to meld the substance of an invaluable textbook with the feel of a good read."--California Nurse
"...a useful contribution to a critical field of public health." --International Journal of Epidemiology
Table of Contents
Part I: Introduction
1. The Nature of Social Injustice and Its Impact on Public Health, Victor W. Sidel and Barry S. Levy
Part II: How the Health of Specific Population Groups Is Affected by Social Injustice
2. The Socioeconomically Disadvantaged, Michael Marmot and Ruth Bell
3. Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Carol Easley Allen and Cheryl E. Easley
4. Women, Stacey J. Rees and Wendy Chavkin
5. Children, Sara Rosenbaum and Chung-Hi H. Yoder
6. Older People, Carroll L. Estes and Steven P. Wallace
7. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender/Transsexual Individuals, Emilia Lombardi and Talia Bettcher
8. People with Disabilities, Nora Ellen Groce
9. Incarcerated People, Ernest M. Drucker
10. Homeless People, Lillian Gelberg and Lisa Arangua
11. Forced Migrants: Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, Michael Toole
Part III: How Social Injustice Affects Health
12. Medical Care, H. Jack Geiger
13. Infectious Diseases, Paul F. Farmer and Joia S. Mukherjee
14. Nutrition, J. Larry Brown
15. Chronic Diseases, Derek Yach
16. Mental Health, Carles Muntaner and Jeanne Geiger-Brown
17. Assaultive Violence and War, James A. Mercy
18. Environmental Health, Colin D. Butler and Anthony J. McMichael
19. Occupational Safety and Health, Andrea Kidd Taylor and Linda Rae Murray
20. Oral Health, Myron Allukian, Jr. and Alice M. Horowitz
21. International Health: Problems in Developing Countries, Barry S. Levy and Victor W. Sidel
Part IV. What Needs to be Done to Prevent Social Injustice and Minimize Its Impact on Health
22. Addressing Social Injustice in a Human Rights Context, Sofia Gruskin and Paula Braveman
23. Promoting Social Justice Through Public Health Policies, Programs, and Services, Alonzo Plough
24. Strengthening Communities and the Roles of Individuals in Community Life, Robert E. Aronson, Kay Lovelace, John W. Hatch, and Tony L. Whitehead
25. Promoting Social Justice Through Education in Public Health, Robert S. Lawrence
26. Researching Critical Questions on Social Justice and Public Health: An Ecosocial Perspective, Nancy Krieger
27. Protecting Human Rights through International and National Law, Peter Weiss and Henry Freedman
28. Promoting Equitable and Sustainable Human Development, Richard Jolly
Appendix: Organizations Addressing Issues of Social Injustice and Public Health