The Pursuit of Health
Throughout human history, improved health and life expectancy have resulted more from safer environments (sanitation and clean water), better nutrition, and our inherent healing capacities than from advances in medical care when we get sick. How can we tap into this understanding to ensure a better future for us all?
What Causes Health
Some 95% of the trillions of dollars the US spends on health care goes to direct medical services and just 5% to population-wide approaches to health improvement. How well does that investment align with what we know about the true determinants of health?
Who Provides Care
While we tend to think of medical professionals as the providers of health care, in reality the vast majority of all care is provided by people for themselves and their families. Increasing our competence for and confidence in self-care may well be the most important function of any healthcare system.
Self-Managing Chronic Disease
Four out of five people over the age of 65 have one or more chronic conditions. Chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and chronic lung disease account for 90% of all illness, 80% of all deaths, and 70% of all healthcare dollars.
Mind and Health
The focus of modern Western medicine has been largely on intervening in the body’s machinery with drugs and surgery. Nonetheless, psychosocial factors play a major role in who gets sick, the course of their illness, as well as recovery. Stress—or more accurately, how we feel about stress—is key.