Public Health

Public Health
Author: Virginia Berridge
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2016
Genre: Public health
ISBN: 019968846X

This Very Short Introduction outlines the nature of public health in our world today and places public health in its historical context from the earliest times, analysing in particular the changes in public health regulation through the nineteenth century and the twentieth and twenty first centuries.

Infectious Disease: A Very Short Introduction

Infectious Disease: A Very Short Introduction
Author: Marta Wayne
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 137
Release: 2015-06-25
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0191002828

As doctors and biologists have learned, to their dismay, infectious disease is a moving target: new diseases emerge every year, old diseases evolve into new forms, and ecological and socioeconomic upheavals change the transmission pathways by which disease spread. By taking an approach focused on the general evolutionary and ecological dynamics of disease, this Very Short Introduction provides a general conceptual framework for thinking about disease. Ecology and evolution provide the keys to answering the 'where', 'why', 'how', and 'what' questions about any particular infectious disease: where did it come from? How is it transmitted from one person to another, and why are some individuals more susceptible than others? What biochemical, ecological, and evolutionary strategies can be used to combat the disease? Is it more effective to block transmission at the population level, or to block infection at the individual level? Through a series of case studies, Benjamin Bolker and Marta L. Wayne introduce the major ideas of infectious disease in a clear and thoughtful way, emphasising the general principles of infection, the management of outbreaks, and the evolutionary and ecological approaches that are now central to much research about infectious disease. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Medical Ethics: A Very Short Introduction

Medical Ethics: A Very Short Introduction
Author: R. A. Hope
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2004-09-23
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0192802828

Issues in medical ethics are rarely out of the media and it is an area of ethics that has particular interest for the general public as well as the medical practitioner. This short and accessible introduction deals with moral questions such as euthanasia as well as asking how health care resources can be distributed fairly.

Epidemiology: A Very Short Introduction

Epidemiology: A Very Short Introduction
Author: Rodolfo Saracci
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2010-02-25
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0191609242

What is epidemiology? What are the causes of a new disease? How can pandemics be prevented? Epidemiology is the study of the changing patterns of disease and its main aim is to improve the health of populations. It's a vital field, central to the health of society, to the identification of causes of disease, and to their management and prevention. Epidemiology has had an impact on many areas of medicine; from discovering the relationship between tobacco smoking and lung cancer, to the origin and spread of new epidemics. However, it is often poorly understood, largely due to misrepresentations in the media. In this Very Short Introduction Rodolfo Saracci dispels some of the myths surrounding the study of epidemiology. He provides a general explanation of the principles behind clinical trials, and explains the nature of basic statistics concerning disease. He also looks at the ethical and political issues related to obtaining and using information concerning patients, and trials involving placebos. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Viruses

Viruses
Author: Dorothy H. Crawford
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2018
Genre: Medical virology
ISBN: 0198811713

Viruses are big news. From pandemics such as HIV, swine flu, and SARS, we are constantly being bombarded with information about new lethal infections. In this Very Short Introduction, Dorothy Crawford demonstrates from their discovery and the unravelling of their intricate structures, how clever these entities really are.

Plague: A Very Short Introduction

Plague: A Very Short Introduction
Author: Paul Slack
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2012-03-22
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0191623962

Throughout history plague has been the cause of many major catastrophes. It was responsible for the Black Death of 1348 and the Great Plague of London in 1665, and for devastating epidemics much earlier and much later, in the Mediterranean in the sixth century, and in China and India between the 1890s and 1920s. Today, it has become a metaphor for other epidemic disasters which appear to threaten us, but plague itself has never been eradicated. In this Very Short Introduction, Paul Slack explores the historical impact of plague over the centuries, looking at the ways in which it has been interpreted, and the powerful images it has left behind in art and literature. Examining what plague meant for those who suffered from it, and how governments began to fight against it, he demonstrates the impact plague has had on modern notions of public health and how it has shaped our history. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Rastafari: A Very Short Introduction

Rastafari: A Very Short Introduction
Author: Ennis Barrington Edmonds
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2012-12-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 0199584524

Rastafari has grown into an international socio-religious movement, with adherents of Rastafari found in most of the major population centres and outposts of the world. This Very Short Introduction provides a brief account of this widespread but often poorly understood movement, looking at its history, central principles, and practices.

Human Rights

Human Rights
Author: Andrew Clapham
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2015
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0198706162

Focusing on highly topical issues such as torture, arbitrary detention, privacy, and discrimination, this book will help readers to understand for themselves the controversies and complexities behind human rights.

Medical Ethics

Medical Ethics
Author: Michael Dunn
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2018
Genre: Medical ethics
ISBN: 9780191853173

Dealing with some of the thorniest problems in medicine, from euthanasia to the distribution of health care resources, this book introduces the reasoning we can use to approach medical ethics. Exploring how medical ethics supports health professionals' work, it also considers the impact of the media, pressure groups, and legal judgments.

The History of Medicine: A Very Short Introduction

The History of Medicine: A Very Short Introduction
Author: William F. Bynum
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 185
Release: 2008-07-31
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 019921543X

Against the backdrop of unprecedented concern for the future of health care, this i Very Short Introduction/i surveys the history of medicine from classical times to the present. Focussing on the key turning points in the history of Western medicine - such as the advent of hospitals and the rise of experimental medicine - but also offering reflections on alternative traditions such as Chinese medicine, Bill Bynum offers insights into medicine's past, while at the same time engaging with contemporary issues, discoveries, and controversies.