The Health of Populations

Jack James was educated in Sydney, where he completed university studies in psychology, biology, social science, and the humanities. He trained as a clinical psychologist, and completed a PhD in experimental clinical psychology. Shortly thereafter, he was drawn to the new field of health psychology, which became the mainstay of his subsequent professional and academic career. He has been on the faculty of several universities in Australia and Europe, and has been principal investigator and recipient of health-related research grants from major granting bodies in Australia, Ireland, Iceland, and the European Union. In the 1990s, he was Foundation Professor of Behavioural Health Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, and Founding National Chair of the Australian College of Health Psychologists. In the 2000s, he was Professor and Head of Psychology, National University of Ireland, Galway. He now lives and works in Iceland, where he is Professor of Psychology, Reykjavík University.

Part 1: The Science of Health1. The Origins of Health2. Current Patterns of Death and Disease3. Twelve Millennia of Changing Human Habits and Habitats4. Biomedicine and Common Causes of Mortality and Morbidity

Part 2: The Harm of Medicine5. Medical Harm: What Is It and What Is the Extent?6. Prescription Drugs, Surgery, and Infections7. The Commercial Culture of Medicine8. Pharmaceutical Industry Entanglement with Biomedical Science9. The Charms and Harms of Personalized Medicine

Part 3: Achieving Optimal Health Sustainability10. Healing Practices and Evidence-based Medicine11. Placebo and the Therapeutic Process12. Prevention and Control of Disease13. Associated Prevention Concepts and Models14. Optimal Health: Risk Factor Reduction and Adjunctive Biomedical Intervention15. Mental Health