Income, Status, and Health

Author: J.A. B.K.
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-05-01
Features: Health is a precious asset, important to everyone. Although the United States has been focusing on exploring this issue in recent years, people still know little about the factors that determine population health. For individuals, healthcare is very important. However, for a healthy society, it is not the most important determinant. The United States spends an average of about $4,000 per person on healthcare annually. However, three-quarters of developed countries, despite spending less than half of what the U.S. does, perform better than the U.S. in general health indicators such as life expectancy and infant mortality. This raises the question: What are the factors that truly affect population health, and where should governments allocate funds to improve it? This is a serious and important issue faced by nations and peoples. This book introduces research findings on population health from countries like the United States in recent years and provides preliminary answers to the aforementioned questions.