Welcome to Exploring the U.S. Healthcare System. This open educational resource (OER) introduces students to foundational characteristics of the U.S. healthcare system. It begins with an overview of the healthcare system that includes a brief history and a description of the current state of health in the U.S. The second chapter describes health delivery systems, including inpatient, outpatient, post-acute, long-term, palliative, and hospice care. An introduction to health insurance in the third chapter will include an overview of basic concepts, private insurance, public insurance, and recent trends. The fourth chapter presents issues related to the triple aim of improving access to care, increasing the quality of care, and lowering the cost of care. The fifth chapter reviews how the government intervenes in healthcare and presents current policy issues related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and value-based contracting. The final chapter on the topic of technology in healthcare provides an overview of health information technology, health information legislation, emerging technologies, and the future of health information technology.

Before new interventions can be used in disease control programmes, it is essential that they are carefully evaluated in “field trials”, which may be complex and expensive undertakings. Descriptions of the detailed procedures and methods used in trials that have been conducted in the past have generally not been published.

Reviews available here: https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/field-trials-of-health-interventions-a-toolbox

Before new interventions can be used in disease control programmes, it is essential that they are carefully evaluated in “field trials”, which may be complex and expensive undertakings. Descriptions of the detailed procedures and methods used in trials that have been conducted in the past have generally not been published.

First aid is the provision of immediate care to a victim with an injury of illness, usually effected by a lay person, and performed within a limited skill range. First aid is normally performed until the injury or illness is satisfactorily dealt with (such as in the case of small cuts, minor bruises, and blisters) or until the next level of care, such as an ambulance or doctor, arrives. This book is a Canadian version of the original at Wikibooks. All references to protocols which do not comply with resuscitation standards in Canada have been removed.

This course is intended as a self-study course for those interested in exploring a career as a Home Health Aide or Personal Care Aide. This Open Educational Resource (OER) consists of 12 chapters which provide an overview of the responsibilities of the home health care worker.

In this book, we want to bring to life the core concepts at the heart of addiction. You may have friends or family members struggling with an addiction, or you yourself may have problems with addiction. You might be interested in working to help people in recovery, or you are simply curious to know more about this issue. Whatever the case, this book will introduce key terminology and research help you define, discuss, diagnose, and deal with this problem.

The material is organized so that each chapter focuses on a different theme related to addiction. Within each chapter are multiple sub-parts where you will find an introductory reading, a video, an article, an activity, questions for discussion, and a short quiz. Some sections also include slide presentations for you to view.

Chapter One: What is Addiction?
Chapter Two: Why Do People Use?
Chapter Three: An Overview of Pharmacology
Chapter Four: Special Considerations
Chapter Five: Adolescents and Addiction
Chapter Six: Addiction and the Family
Chapter Seven: Biopsychosocial Issues
Chapter Eight: Assessment & Treatment
Chapter Nine: Pathways to Recovery

Foundations of Biomedical Science: Quantitative Literacy Theory and Problems is designed to help students develop the fundamental mathematical and quantitative literacy required to navigate and interpret evidence-based Biomedical data. This will provide students with the skills and confidence to habitually question any quantitative data they come across and to use these skills to make informed judgements regarding their veracity.

This book is intended to provide a basic introduction to epidemiologic methods and epidemiologic thinking. After reading this book, you should be able to read an epidemiologic study, understand what the authors did and why, and identify what they found. You will also have the tools to assess the quality of that study—how good is the evidence? What are potential sources of bias, and how might those have affected the results? This book will not teach you enough to be able to design and conduct your own epidemiologic studies—that level of understanding requires several years of specialized training. However, being able to read and understand the scientific literature about human health will allow you to apply that understanding to your own work in a nuanced, sophisticated way.

Foundations of Neuroscience is aimed at undergraduate students new to the field of neuroscience. The first edition specifically targets students enrolled in Neurobiology at Michigan State University and primarily contains topics covered in that course.

Table of Contents
I. Neuron Structure & Function
II. Neuronal Communication
III. Nervous System Organization
IV. Sensory Systems
V. Motor System
VI. Behavior

This book is written for those interested in acquiring a thorough knowledge base relative to the intricacies of the organizational theories, customs, and insights significant to the management of health service organizations. It examines the foundational aspects of leadership and management as they relate to establishing and maintaining the principles and practices within healthcare organizations. The book opens with a discussion on the differences between health, healthcare, and health care while providing an overview of healthcare management and organizational trends. It culminates in discussions of leadership, management, motivation, organizational behavior, and management thinking. Additionally, it discusses topics of information technology, teamwork, health disparities, organizational culture, performance, and change.

This course reviews the key genomic technologies and computational approaches that are driving advances in prognostics, diagnostics, and treatment. Throughout the semester, emphasis will return to issues surrounding the context of genomics in medicine including: what does a physician need to know? what sorts of questions will s/he likely encounter from patients? how should s/he respond? Lecturers will guide the student through real world patient-doctor interactions. Outcome considerations and socioeconomic implications of personalized medicine are also discussed. The first part of the course introduces key basic concepts of molecular biology, computational biology, and genomics. Continuing in the informatics applications portion of the course, lecturers begin each lecture block with a scenario, in order to set the stage and engage the student by showing: why is this important to know? how will the information presented be brought to bear on medical practice? The final section presents the ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding genomic medicine. A vision of how genomic medicine relates to preventative care and public health is presented in a discussion forum with the students where the following questions are explored: what is your level of preparedness now? what challenges must be met by the healthcare industry to get to where it needs to be?

Table of Contents:

I. Nutrition Chapters
1. Feeding Your Brain
2. When Eating Hurts
3. High Blood Pressure
4. Sports Nutrition
5. Disordered Eating
6. Food Safety
7. Nourishing Your Body with Foods - Calcium
8. Nutrients to Know - Proteins
9. Obesity
10. Nutrients to Know - Vitamins
11. Diabetes
12. High Cholesterol
13. Get More for Your Buck!
14. Nourishing your body with Fruits and Vegetables

II. Psychology Chapters
15. Coping with Stress
16. Coping with Mental Illness
17. Living with Learning Disabilities
18. Friendships
19. Coping with Loss
20. Sexual Health
21. Finding a Career Path
22. Distracted Driving
23. Substance Abuse
24. Healthy Sleep Habits
25. Work Life Balance
26. Breaking up
27. Healthy Study Habits

Quiz questions that accompany the text are available for faculty and instructors. Request access by providing your credentials and contacting us at learnlib@umn.edu.

Chapter 1: Physical Activity Foundations
1.1 An Introduction to Physical Activity Foundations
1.2 Physical Activity Terminology
1.3 Measures of Physical Activity
1.4 Exploring the Benefits of Physical Activity
1.5 Physical Activity Guidelines and Recommendations
1.6 Physical Activity in the United States: Trends
1.7 Components of Physical Fitness
1.8 Training Principles
1.9 Conclusion

Chapter 2: The Benefits of Physical Activity
2.1 An Introduction to the Benefits of Physical Activity
2.2 Physiological Benefits
2.3 Cognitive Benefits
2.4 Psychological Benefits
2.5 Barriers to Physical Activity
2.6 Engaging in Healthy Behavior Change
2.7 Conclusion

Chapter 3: Nutrition for Health and Physical Activity
3.1 An Introduction to Nutrition for Health and Physical Activity
3.2 Nutrition 101
3.3 Energy Requirements and Dietary Health
3.4 Dietary Recommendations and Nutrition Labels
3.5 Nutrition for Physical Activity
3.6 Barriers to Healthy Nutrition
3.7 Dietary Resources
3.8 Conclusion

Provides a directed clinical experience which focuses on the practice of skills related to the application of legal principles, record analysis and abstraction and record retention and retrieval.

Health Case Studies is composed of eight separate health case studies. Each case study includes the patient narrative or story that models the best practice (at the time of publishing) in healthcare settings. Associated with each case is a set of specific learning objectives to support learning and facilitate educational strategies and evaluation.

Readers will learn about the nature of health, health education, health promotion and related concepts. This will help to understand the social, psychological and physical components of health.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction to Health
Chapter 2: Psychological Health
Chapter 3: Stress Management
Chapter 4: Relationships and Communication
Chapter 5: Gender and Sexuality
Chapter 6: Sexual Health
Chapter 7: Infectious diseases and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI's)
Chapter 8: Substance Use and Abuse
Chapter 9: Basic Nutrition and Healthy Eating
Chapter 10: Weight Management
Chapter 11: Physical Fitness
Chapter 12: Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, and Cancer
Chapter 13: Environmental Health
Chapter 14: Health Care Choices

Readers will learn about the nature of health, health education, health promotion and related concepts. This will help to understand the social, psychological and physical components of health.

This course is a collaborative offering of Sana, Partners in Health, and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). The goal of this course is the development of innovations in information systems for developing countries that will (1) translate into improvement in health outcomes, (2) strengthen the existing organizational infrastructure, and (3) create a collaborative ecosystem to maximize the value of these innovations. The course will be taught by guest speakers who are internationally recognized experts in the field and who, with their operational experiences, will outline the challenges they faced and detail how these were addressed.This OCW site combines resources from the initial Spring 2011 offering of the course (numbered HST.184) and the Spring 2012 offering (numbered HST.S14).

This OER textbook explores components of a healthy lifestyle and methods for incorporating these components into daily life. Fitness assessment, exercise program development, nutrition, weight management, goal setting, and stress management are discussed.

Chapter 1 - Healthy Behaviors and Wellness
Chapter 2 - Fitness Principles
Chapter 3 - Cardiorespiratory Fitness
Chapter 4 - Muscular Strength and Endurance
Chapter 5 - Flexibility
Chapter 6 - Body Composition
Chapter 7 - Nutrition
Chapter 8 - Weight Management
Chapter 9 - Stress
Chapter 10 - Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke

This book is a collaborative effort among three faculty members from the Darton College of Health Professions, Nursing Department, at Albany State University, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), and part of the UniversitySystem of Georgia. The book idea originated from a grant-funded program to create open education resources (OER) for students learning in UniversitySystem of Georgia’s eMajor courses. The cost of education in the United States is remarkably expensive, and the added burden of purchasing textbooks for each course can be prohibitive. The opportunity to create free educational materials has been a rewarding experience. A free pdf form of this text is available for download. The authors of this book are registered nurses who have each worked 25 or more years in various roles and specialties within our healthcare system. There have been many changes throughout the years. The authors’ experience and knowledge are from a nursing perspective not found in other texts of similar content.The healthcare system has advanced tremendously since the very beginning of our formalized system. The most significant growth has been in technology use to support, diagnose, increase patient safety, and document patient outcomes.However, more can be done to ensure a system that meets all our citizens’ healthcare needs.Readers of this text will learn a brief history of our healthcare system and explore the current state of health in the U.S.