Population Health: Behavioral and Social Science Insights

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The purpose of this book is to gain a better understanding of the multitude of factors that determine longer life and improved quality of life in the years a person is alive. While the emphasis is primarily on the social and behavioral determinants that have an effect on the health and well-being of individuals, this publication also addresses quality of life factors and determinants more broadly. Each chapter in this book considers an area of investigation and ends with suggestions for future research and implications of current research for policy and practice. The introductory chapter summarizes the state of Americans’ health and well-being in comparison to our international peers and presents background information concerning the limitations of current approaches to improving health and well-being. Following the introduction, there are 21 chapters that examine the effects of various behavioral risk factors on population health, identify trends in life expectancy and quality of life, and suggest avenues for research in the behavioral and social science arenas to address problems affecting the U.S. population and populations in other developed and developing countries around the world.

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Table of Contents:

Introduction

Innovations in Population Health Research: The Challenge

Robert M. Kaplan, Daryn H. David, and Michael J. Spittel

Section I. Demographic and Social Epidemiological Perspectives on Population Health

Income Inequality and Health: A Causal Review

Kate E. Pickett and Richard G. Wilkinson

Labor Policy and Work, Family, and Health in the Twenty-First Century

Lisa F. Berkman

Social and Behavioral Interventions to Improve Health and Reduce Disparities in Health

David R. Williams and Valerie Purdie-Vaughns

The Burden of Non-Communicable Diseases in the Developing World: A Role for Social and

Behavioral Research

Wendy Baldwin

Identifying the Principal Factors Responsible for Improvements in the Health of Populations

Samuel H. Preston

Section II. Influence of Policies Focused on Behavioral Risk Factors

Changing Population Behavior and Reducing Health Disparities: Exploring the Potential of “Choice

Architecture” Interventions

Theresa M. Marteau, Gareth J. Hollands, and Michael P. Kelly

Application of Behavior Change Theory to Preventing Unintentional Injuries

David A. Sleet and Andrea Carlson Gielen

Cigarettes: The Rise and Decline But Not Demise of the Greatest Behavioral Health Disaster of the

20th Century

David B. Abrams, Allison M. Glasser, Andrea C. Villanti, and Raymond Niaura

Physical Activity: Numerous Benefits and Effective Interventions

James F. Sallis and Jordan A. Carlson

How Health Impact Assessments Shape Interventions

Steven M. Teutsch, Katherine M. Butler, Paul A. Simon, and Jonathan E. Fielding

Behavioral and Social Science Aspects of the U.S. National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS): 2010 to 2015

and Beyond

David R. Holtgrave, Cathy Maulsby, Chris Adkins, and Laura W. Fuentes

Section III. Biological Influences on Development and Subsequent Well-Being

Epigenomics and the Unheralded Convergence of the Biological and Social Sciences

W. Thomas Boyce

The Brain on Stress: How Behavior and the Social Environment “Get Under the Skin”

Bruce S. McEwen

Section IV. Value of Investing in Health Care

The Science of Making Better Decisions About Health: Cost-Effectiveness and Cost-Benefit

Analysis

Louise B. Russell

The Contribution of Behavior Change and Public Health to Improved U.S. Population Health

Susan T. Stewart and David M. Cutler

Health Economics and Improvements in Behavioral Health

Richard Frank and Sherry Glied

Evidence-Based Psychotherapies: Novel Models of Delivering Treatment

Alan E. Kazdin

Section V. Emerging Tools for Studying Population Health

Mathematical and Computational Simulation of the Behavioral and Social Drivers of Population

Health

Mark G. Orr, Bryan Lewis, Kathryn Ziemer, and Sallie Keller

Understanding the Relationship Between Education and Health: A Review of the Evidence and an

Examination of Community Perspectives

Emily B. Zimmerman, Steven H. Woolf, and Amber Haley

Aligning Medical Education with the Nation’s Health Priorities: Innovations in Physician Training in

Behavioral and Social Sciences

Jason M. Satterfield and Patricia A. Carney

Conclusion

Determinants of Health and Longevity

Nancy E. Adler and Aric A. Prather

New Directions for Behavioral and Social Science Strategies to Improve Health

Daryn H. David, Michael L. Spittel, and Robert M. Kaplan

The target audience is medical professionals and researchers.  The mission of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is to enhance the health and well-being of Americans by providing effective health and social services and by fostering sound, sustained advances in the sciences underlying medicine, public health, and social services, through research and findings provided in publications including this one.