U.S. Health in International Perspective

Synopsis

The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U. S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. In light of the new and growing evidence about the U. S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U. S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. U. S. Health in International Perspective presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U. S. health disadvantage.

Copyright:

2013

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9780309264143

Publisher:

The National Academies Press

Date of Addition:

10/02/17

Copyrighted By:

the National Academy of Sciences

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Nonfiction, Health, Mind and Body, Psychology, Medicine, Sociology

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.