At Risk in America: The Health and Health Care Needs of Vulnerable Populations in the United States [Hardcover]

Lu Ann Aday (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0787949868 | ISBN-13: 978-0787949860 | Edition: 2nd

This updated second edition of At Risk in America provides a detailed analysis of those key population groups most vulnerable to disease and injury in the United States today-including homeless persons, refugees and immigrants, people living with AIDS, alcohol and substance abusers, high-risk mothers and infants, victims of family or other violence, and the chronically or mentally ill. Lu Ann Aday reviews the major theories and knowledge concerning these at-risk groups and offers new approaches and methodologies for tracing the social determinants and societal influences on health. She examines the specific health needs and risks faced by these groups, their experience in the health care system, the current policies and programs that serve them, and the research and policy initiatives that might be undertaken to help reduce their vulnerability.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This updated and extended portrait of America's most vulnerable populations provides an extraordinary amount of important information for researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and students. Aday reliably presents the challenges in reducing risk and improving health in the years ahead." (David Mechanic, director, Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research, Rutgers University)

"As we bask in the longest economic boom in history and an unprecedented accumulation of wealth, Aday relentlessly reminds us of the dire health needs of our vulnerable populations. This new edition will be as valuable as the first was to researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and ethicists." (Mary Ruggie, professor, J. F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University)

"Lu Ann Aday has done it again. The second edition of At Risk in America will be an indispensable resource for health care providers, public health officials, and health services researchers, and it should be taken especially seriously by anyone concerned with health care policy in the United States." (Bruce C. Vladeck, professor of health policy and geriatrics, and director, Institute for Medicare Practice, Mount Sinai School of Medicine)

"A useful book for health care practitioners, teachers, researchers, and students of public health. Highly Recommended." (Choice, 12/01)

"What makes Aday's contribution significant is her methodical identification of groups that exist in the midst of a land of plenty, yet are not necessarily living the American dream." (Nephrology Nursing Journal, April 2002)

From the Inside Flap

The skyrocketing numbers of uninsured, combined with the subsequent emphasis on cost-effective practices in medicine, have had a profound impact on the movement to improve access to health care for our most vulnerable citizens. The poor, minorities, and the uninsured, among others, are increasingly finding that favorable trends for access are slowing or reversing. The current solutions to dealing with the needs of these diverse groups have been fragmented-resulting in many at-risk individuals slipping through the cracks of the existing health and social service systems.

This updated second edition of At Risk in America provides a detailed analysis of those key population groups most vulnerable to disease and injury in the United States today-including homeless persons, refugees and immigrants, people living with AIDS, alcohol and substance abusers, high-risk mothers and infants, victims of family or other violence, and the chronically or mentally ill. Lu Ann Aday reviews the major theories and knowledge concerning these at-risk groups and offers new approaches and methodologies for tracing the social determinants and societal influences on health. She examines the specific health needs and risks faced by these groups, their experience in the health care system, the current policies and programs that serve them, and the research and policy initiatives that might be undertaken to help reduce their vulnerability.

Drawing from the latest theoretical, empirical, and policy developments, At Risk in America, Second Edition, updates the data and sources presented in the earlier edition as well as substantially expanding the conceptual framework, research needs, and policy implications initially introduced. The book also examines emerging new trends in the health care system, such as the accelerating influence of managed care, and looks at how public health as a profession is being redefined by these forces. No other source has pulled together, in systematic fashion, such a wide array of information or identified the cross-cutting policy and research issues surrounding the increasing numbers of the at-risk population.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 372 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 2nd edition (February 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787949868
• ISBN-13: 978-0787949860
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #99,748 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #21 in Books > Medical Books > Dentistry > Preventive
  • #54 in Books > Medical Books > Administration & Medicine Economics > Health Policy
  • #66 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Government     > Social Policy

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At Risk in America, January 6, 2009

By 

Mandy J. Roberts (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: At Risk in America: The Health and Health Care Needs of Vulnerable Populations in the United States (Hardcover)

This book is a great reference for thesis and dissertation writers in the area of population risk!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Info, August 23, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: At Risk in America: The Health and Health Care Needs of Vulnerable Populations in the United States (Hardcover)

I thought that the book provided some good information, especially the latter half of the book which offered possible solutions and to improve the health situation of the populations that she identified as vulnerable. I wish the earlier chapters, which identify the vulnerable populations and the circumstances that increase their risk, were slightly more in depth. Overall, there is some strong data and Aday presents a pretty good look into the problem of the disproprtioante health risks that many people in America face.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars At Risk in America, February 11, 2011

By 

David - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: At Risk in America: The Health and Health Care Needs of Vulnerable Populations in the United States (Hardcover)

Very interesting book to read and not only for student but for others as well. It gives a better understanding of who and why are those populations are vulnerable and how everyone of us can help.