Longevity
by Jenna Ogilvie | May 6, 2016 | Discussion Paper, Perspectives
In rural western Massachusetts, a coalition with members from many sectors of the community has been working for more than a decade to support youth well-being and reduce youth substance abuse. In that time, youth drinking, cigarette smoking, and marijuana use...
by Jenna Ogilvie | Apr 14, 2016 | Discussion Paper, Perspectives
“The ultimate test of [health] policy is whether or not it adds to the well-being of the population served.” Robert G. Evans and Gregory L. Stoddart [1] Introduction In “A New Perspective on the Health of Canadians,” Marc Lalonde, the Canadian Minister...
by Jenna Ogilvie | Mar 31, 2016 | Discussion Paper, Perspectives
Background Similar to the national rates of high blood pressure, data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System indicate that the New Hampshire rate of hypertension is just over 30 percent (CDC, 2013; New Hampshire Institute for Health Policy and...
by Jenna Ogilvie | Jan 15, 2016 | Discussion Paper, Perspectives
In recent years, many people in the global health community have advocated for greater attention to the prevention and treatment of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Researchers, health care providers, and public health...
by Laura DeStefano | Dec 3, 2015 | Commentary, Perspectives
The authors gave a presentation at an Institute of Medicine Roundtable on Health Literacy workshop titled “Health Literacy and Palliative Care” in July 2015. The presentations highlighted the experience of the health care system for those who need palliative care and...
by Jenna Ogilvie | Jun 22, 2015 | Commentary, Perspectives
Prevention is the best investment we can make in behavioral health—and the time to make it is now. Every day, across America, behavioral health problems in childhood and adolescence take a heavy toll on millions of lives. These problems cause deep, often...
by Jenna Ogilvie | Apr 30, 2015 | Discussion Paper, Perspectives
Childhood obesity, a serious and urgent public health problem, affects 17 percent of children in the United States, almost a third of whom have severe obesity defined as an age and sex-specific body mass index above the 99th percentile on the 2000 Centers for...
by Jenna Ogilvie | Apr 6, 2015 | Commentary, Perspectives
Physiological function and resiliency decline with age, even among the most robust sectors of the older adult population. The degree to which this decline is attributable to true biological aging versus aging-related changes in lifestyle factors has been the...
by Jenna Ogilvie | Apr 6, 2015 | Commentary, Perspectives
Native Americans represent approximately 1 percent of the U.S. population, but account for some of the worst health outcomes related to preventable chronic diseases (diabetes, heart disease, cancer, alcoholism) than any other racial or ethnic group. In...
by Laura DeStefano | Dec 9, 2014 | Commentary, Perspectives
Rather than rest on the seventh day, God might have put a little thought into futureproofing the design of human beings. As societies age, the weaknesses in our design, combined with changing lifestyles, mean that sickness has become the normal human...