Digital library
Textbooks, references and open learning resources.
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Find Your Voice! Speaking in a Democracy
J. Scott Andrews · Colorado Mesa University
In the contents: 1.01: The Value of Public Speaking in Your Life · 1.02: Why Is Public Speaking Important · 1.03: Public Speaking--So What Who Cares
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Global Women's Issues Women in the World Today
LibreTexts
In the contents: 1.03: Women and Health
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Community Resilience to Climate Change: Theory, Research and Practice
Dana Hellman; Vivek Shandas · Portland State University Library · 2020
This reader is an Open Educational Resource, meant to accompany a graduate or higher-level undergraduate university course in climate change resilience, adaptation, and/or planning. While the material is geared toward students in urban and regional planning, it may also be of interest to students of urban studies, public health, geography, political science, sociology, risk management, and others. Each section of this volume includes (1) an introductory summary, (2) a reading list with full text articles, (3) student exercises meant to enhance understanding and facilitate in-class discussion, and (4) additional discussion prompts or activities for instructors to use in class. The format of materials is intended to convey key concepts, while leaving ample space for student exploration, discourse, and creativity. Lessons may culminate in an applied, imaginative final project, a sample framework of which is provided at the end of Section VI.
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Social Science Research: Principles, Methods and Practices
Anol Bhattacherjee · University of Southern Queensland · 2019
This book is designed to introduce doctoral and postgraduate students to the process of conducting scientific research in the social sciences, business, education, public health, and related disciplines. It is a one-stop, comprehensive, and compact source for foundational concepts in behavioural research, and can serve as a standalone text or as a supplement to research readings in any doctoral seminar or research methods class. This book is currently being used as a research text at universities in 216 countries, across six continents and has been translated into seven different languages. To receive updates on this book, including the translated versions, please follow the author on Facebook or Twitter @Anol_B.
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Economics for the Greater Good
Caroline Krafft · Minnesota Libraries Publishing Project · 2019
Economics for the Greater Good: An Introduction to Economic Thinking for Public Policy teaches the central concepts of economics through applications to global challenges and domestic public policy issues. Chapters tackle issues of hunger, homelessness, rent control, minimum wages, globalization and trade, crime, discrimination, poverty and anti-poverty programs, education, pollution, health care, social safety nets, and government spending. Both microeconomic and macroeconomic concepts are introduced, including production, markets, supply and demand, price controls, models of trade and trade restrictions, cost-benefit analysis, budget constraints, public goods, externalities, taxes and subsidies, and government budgets and debt. Each chapter presents evidence on a pressing social problem, introduces an economic model to help understand that problem, and discusses evidence on what programs and policies work to alleviate global challenges.
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Principles of Epidemiology: A Primer
Christy Bazan; Pedro Hallal; Rachel Hoopsick; Sheena Martenies · University of Illinois Library - Urbana · 2026
Principles of Epidemiology: A Primer is an open-access, introductory textbook crafted for students and professionals in public health and allied health fields. The textbook is designed to provide an overview of the basic principles of epidemiology, providing a brief historical overview, summarizing tools, processes and principles of epidemiology and their contribution to public health.
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Population Health for Nurses
Jessica Ochs; Sherry Roper; Susan Schwartz · OpenStax · 2024
Population Health for Nurses prepares nurses to develop interventions, policies, and practices that promote health equity and improved health outcomes across the health care delivery continuum. The text emphasizes the social determinants of health and how nurses can plan and implement health promotion and disease prevention interventions. It takes a holistic perspective, connecting human health behavior to the dynamic, ongoing interactions of the person, social factors, and the physical environment in which people are born, live, learn, play, work, and age. OpenStax Population Health for Nurses uses a logical, thematic organization that breaks down content into manageable chunks. It presents the material in 35 chapters, organized into 7 thematic units. The text defines and distinguishes among the interrelated nursing areas of population health, public health, and community health nursing, providing both historical context and up-to-date research to help students make connections across content that can inform practice. The result is a holistic approach that applies theoretical concepts to the practical assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation steps of client care and community-tailored interventions.
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Value-based Healthcare
Hanan Khalil · La Trobe University · 2024
This open textbook presents a contemporary overview of Value-based Healthcare: a healthcare delivery and reimbursement model that focuses on achieving the best possible health outcomes for patients while controlling costs. It represents a shift of focus from quantity to quality, and aims to align incentives to bring together the interests of patients, healthcare providers, and payers. The resource covers core content in the following topics: an introduction to value based healthcare, funding models, leadership and governance, models of care, shared decision making models, case studies, global perspectives, resources management and cost control. This text is for Masters-level courses in health administration, public health, nursing, or health information. It will also be useful more broadly for anyone studying health or working in the health sector including clinicians, managers, and policy makers.
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Epidemiology
Charlotte Baker · Virginia Tech Libraries · 2023
Epidemiology is an openly licensed text designed for medical degree–seeking clinical students without a prior background in public health. Using sports medicine and injury prevention examples and applications, it aims to provide students with the basics of epidemiology terms and concepts and is intended to guide medical school students as they prepare for the USMLE Step 1 Exam and to transition from student to clinician. It includes an introduction to general concepts and terminology of epidemiology, study designs and their relationship to clinical questions, and the use of epidemiology in clinical diagnosis and screening of disease. Concluding sections of the book present sources of errors in epidemiologic studies, including bias, confounding, and effect modification. The book is notable for its use of accessible, inclusive figures and examples, and end-of-chapter study guides that summarize the chapter visually. Are you reviewing or adopting this book for a course? Please help us understand your use by filling out this form: https://bit.ly/interest_epidemiology
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Drug Use and Misuse: A Community Health Perspective
Christy Bazan; Brandi Barnes; Ryan Santens; Emily Verone · University of Illinois Library - Urbana · 2022
Drug Use and Misuse: A Community Health Perspective provides students with an introduction to the biological, psychological, and legal aspects of drug use and misuse through the lens of community health and discusses the impact of drug use and misuse on community health. The book contains eight distinct chapters addressing the background of drug use and misuse, including key terms, as well as an introduction to different categories of drugs including gateway drugs, opioids, and prescription drugs, and a conclusion that describes evidence-based prevention and treatment models. Originally developed for use in the popular undergraduate survey course “Drug Use and Abuse” taught at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the book is aimed at students learning about community health and the effects of drug use in a variety of contexts, such as survey courses for pharmacology, psychology, or public health.
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Exploring the U.S. Healthcare System
Karen Valaitis · University of West Florida Pressbooks · 2023
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, longterm, 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. Chapter content is supplemented with additional material such as reports, briefs, figures, infographics, definitions, and key terms. Chapters two through six end with a “knowledge check” exercise to actively engage students with the content. While this OER book was curated and created for undergraduate students in the field of healthcare, it is my hope that it will continue to be customized to other programs and shared again.
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Big Data for Epidemiology: Applied Data Analysis Using National Health Surveys
Tiffany Kindratt · Mavs Open Press · 2022
National data sets provide an avenue for students to practice data analytic skills while also answering meaningful research questions. This open education resource was developed to train future public health professionals how to conduct secondary data analysis of national health surveys using SAS statistical software. SAS software was selected because it is one of the most commonly used software programs used among public health departments and academia. The book includes details on how to analyze public-use data from five common national health surveys, including the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and National Health and Nutrition and Examination Survey (NHANES). All datasets and corresponding syntax files are available from the Open ICPSR Data Repository.
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Critical Perspectives on Technology and the Family
Susan Walker · University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing · 2022
From the perspective of a long time family practitioner, researcher, and educator, and technology innovator, this textbook offers the first comprehensive view of technology in the family for college students, professionals and the public. Each chapter offers content and a complete reference list, learning activities, ideas for critical blog posting and additional readings. The beginning chapters cover foundational information about our societal use of information and communications technology, family theories and ways of understanding families, and how families differ in their use and access to ICT. The main body of the book (chapters 4-10) covers elements of the family from couple relationships and dating apps, to children’s use and impacts on development from early childhood through young adulthood, use by parents and in the parent-child relationship, shared use by family members, and then topics important to family life: work-family balance and health and financial management and technology. The end of the book pivots to look closely at use by family professionals, the competencies needed to integrate technology into practice, and policy as a proactive and systemic avenue for change. End of book material include an additional reading list and recommended web content, social media and thought leaders. The authors lends her ideas on teaching for critical thinking with an overview at the beginning of the book, and classroom assessment ideas (actually short ways to engage learners in critical thinking activities).
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Perspectives: An Open Invitation to Cultural Anthropology
Nina Brown; Thomas Mcllwraith; Laura Tubelle de González · American Anthropological Association · 2020
We are delighted to bring to you this novel textbook, a collection of chapters on the essential topics in cultural anthropology. Different from other introductory textbooks, this book is an edited volume with each chapter written by a different author. Each author has written from their experiences working as an anthropologist and that personal touch makes for an accessible introduction to cultural anthropology. Our approach to cultural anthropology is holistic. We see the interconnectedness of cultural practices and, in all of the chapters, we emphasize the comparison of cultures and the ways of life of different peoples. We start with Laura Nader’s observation that cultural differences need not be seen as a problem. In our complicated world of increasing migration, nationalism, and climate challenges, cultural diversity might actually be the source of conflict resolution and new approaches to ensuring a healthier world. Indeed, as Katie Nelson reminds us, anthropology exposes the familiarity in the ideas and practices of others that seem bizarre. Robert Borofsky advocates for anthropology’s ability to empower people and facilitate good. Borofsky calls on anthropologists to engage with a wider public to bring our incredible stories and important insights to helping resolve the most critical issues we face in the world today. This book brings Nader, Nelson, Borofsky, and many others together to demonstrate that our anthropological understandings can help all of us to improve the lives of people the world over. We need you, as students, to see the possibilities. As instructors, we want to help you easily share anthropological knowledge and understanding. We want all readers to be inspired by the intensely personal writings of the anthropologists who contribute to this volume.
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Public Speaking and Democratic Participation: Speech, Deliberation, and Analysis in the Civic Realm
Jennifer Abbott; Todd McDorman; David Timmerman; L. Jill Lamberton · PALNI · 2025
The second edition of Public Speaking and Democratic Participation: Speech, Deliberation, and Analysis in the Civic Realm equips students to effectively participate in and transform their communities through speech. Drawing on the ancient study of rhetoric, the textbook teaches students informative and persuasive speaking skills to develop and empower their public voice. Unique to this textbook, content is also provided on the democratic practices of deliberative discussion facilitation and rhetorical analysis. Together, these abilities help students recognize divisive civic discourse, counter social injustice, and nurture a healthier and more inclusive society.
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Institutional Racism in the United States Revisited
Carmichael Peters; Louis Knowles; Rodè Cramer; Glennan Keldin · Chapman University · 2024
This book aims to examine the current state of systemic racism in the United States as compared to baseline data collected in 1969. Using recent findings in the fields of history, economics, education, political science and public health, the work reveals the ways in which systemic racism in the US has and has not been addressed in the past five decades.
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Navigating the 21st Century Business World: Case Studies in Management
Dorottya Sallai; Alexander Pepper · LSE Press · 2025
Case studies have long been an integral part of business and management education. As artificial intelligence transforms teaching and learning, they are assuming even greater importance. Cases provide the opportunity to learn from real-life scenarios, equipping students with the analytical skills required to critically examine data, apply theory, and interpret complex situations in what is an increasingly noisy and uncertain world. Navigating the 21st Century Business World: Case Studies in Management is a fully open access collection of management cases, featuring examples from the health sector, media, oil and gas industries, fast fashion, financial services, and the public sector. Written by LSE academics and tested in the classroom, the case studies in this book challenge students to evaluate classic issues of management, such as corporate governance and leadership, and to address contemporary dilemmas, from considering a company’s responsibilities in the face of man-made climate change to how to create inclusive workforces. Each case details the core dilemmas raised and includes questions for students to consider when preparing the case. Academics and industry trainers can use the collection to make their lessons more hands-on and to enhance their curriculum. The case studies provide practical examples of management decision-making to spark thought-provoking discussions for university students, experienced executives looking to improve their leadership skills, and entrepreneurs seeking a competitive edge.
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Navigating the 21st Century Business World
Dorottya Sallai; Alexander Pepper · LSE Press · 2025
Case studies have long been an integral part of business and management education. As artificial intelligence transforms teaching and learning, they are assuming even greater importance. Cases provide the opportunity to learn from real-life scenarios, equipping students with the analytical skills required to critically examine data, apply theory, and interpret complex situations in what is an increasingly noisy and uncertain world. Navigating the 21st Century Business World: Case Studies in Management is a fully open access collection of management cases, featuring examples from the health sector, media, oil and gas industries, fast fashion, financial services, and the public sector. Written by LSE academics and tested in the classroom, the case studies in this book challenge students to evaluate classic issues of management, such as corporate governance and leadership, and to address contemporary dilemmas, from considering a company’s responsibilities in the face of man-made climate change to how to create inclusive workforces. Each case details the core dilemmas raised and includes questions for students to consider when preparing the case. Academics and industry trainers can use the collection to make their lessons more hands-on and to enhance their curriculum. The case studies provide practical examples of management decision-making to spark thought-provoking discussions for university students, experienced executives looking to improve their leadership skills, and entrepreneurs seeking a competitive edge.
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Population Health for Nurses
Jessica Ochs; Sherry L. Roper; Susan M. Schwartz; Emily Berkowitz · OpenStax, Rice University
Population Health for Nurses prepares nurses to develop interventions, policies, and practices that promote health equity and improved health outcomes across the health care delivery continuum. The text emphasizes the social determinants of health and how nurses can plan and implement health promotion and disease prevention interventions. It takes a holistic perspective, connecting human health behavior to the dynamic, ongoing interactions of the person, social factors, and the physical environment in which people are born, live, learn, play, work, and age. OpenStax Population Health for Nurses uses a logical, thematic organization that breaks down content into manageable chunks. It presents the material in 35 chapters, organized into 7 thematic units. The text defines and distinguishes among the interrelated nursing areas of population health, public health, and community health nursing, providing both historical context and up-to-date research to help students make connections across content that can inform practice. The result is a holistic approach that applies theoretical concepts to the practical assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation steps of client care and community-tailored interventions.
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Kansas State University: Human Nutrition
Brian Lindshield · Kansas State University
This text is used for an intermediate-level, nutrition course taught on campus every spring semester, and all 3 semesters (fall, spring, summer) online. Ideally on-campus students take the course during the spring semester of their sophomore year. Most on-campus students in the class are majoring in Nutritional Sciences, Nutrition and Health (previously Public Health Nutrition), Sports Nutrition, or Dietetics.