Social Injustice and Public Health

Barry S. Levy, M.D., M.P.H., Adjunct Professor of Public Health at Tufts University School of Medicine and a past president of the American Public Health Association, has had extensive experience in public health practice, education, research, and consulting in the United States and many other countries. He has written more than 200 articles and book chapters on a wide range of public health subjects and has co-edited 19 other books.

Part I: Introduction

1: The Nature of Social Injustice and Its Impact on Public Health
Barry S. Levy
Box 1-1: Concepts of Social Justice
Box 1-2: Science and Social Justice
Omar Khan and Kawika Liu

Part II: How Social Injustice Affects the Health of Specific Population Groups

2: Socioeconomically Disadvantaged People
Michael Marmot and Ruth Bell

3: People of Color
Carol Easley Allen and Cheryl E. Easley
Box 3-1: Racial and Ethnic Definitions in the U.S. Census
Box 3-2: Major Disparities in Infant Mortality and Maternal Mortality Rates of African Americans Compared with Others in the United States
Linda Villarosa
Box 3-3: The Importance of Teaching Health Professionals About Cultural Competence

4: Women
Gina Maranto

5: Children
Sara Rosenbaum, Kay A. Johnson, and Rachel Gunsalus
Box 5-1: Child Poverty Rates in the United States and Other Countries
Barry S. Levy
Box 5-2: Children in Low- and Middle-income Countries: Millions Are Dying from Preventable Diseases
Kathryn Bolles and M. James Eliades

6: Older People
Carroll L. Estes and Steven P. Wallace

7: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender/Transsexual People
Emilia Lombardi and Talia Bettcher

8: People with Disabilities
Nora Ellen Groce
Box 8-1: Terminology
Box 8-2: Disability and Education
Box 8-3: Similarities and Differences Among People with Disabilities

9: Incarcerated People.
Ernest M. Drucker
Box 9-1: Political Prisoners
William Schulz

10: People Who Are Homeless
Elizabeth M. Moore, Theresa H. Cheng, Roya Ijadi-Maghsoodi, and Lillian Gelberg

11: Forced Migrants: Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons
Michael Toole

Part III: How Social Injustice Affects Areas of Public Health

12: Medical Care
Oliver Fein and H. Jack Geiger
Box 12-1: What is Single-payer Health Care?
Steffie Woolhandler and David Himmelstein
Box 12-2: Improving Medical Care by Teaching Medical Students About Racism
Anthony L. Schlaff

13: Infectious Diseases
Joia S. Mukherjee and Paul E. Farmer
Box 13-1: Case Study of a Man with Tuberculosis

14: Nutrition
J. Larry Brown
Box 14-1: Definition of Key Terms
Box 14-2: Obesity

15: Noncommunicable Diseases
Ramla Benmaamar, Madeleine Smith, and Derek Yach
Box 15-1: Noncommunicable Disease Inequities in the United States
Barry S. Levy

16: Mental Health
Carles Muntaner, Edwin Ng, Haejoo Chung, Philipp Hessel, and William W. Eaton
Box 16-1: The Opioid Crisis and Social Justice
Jay C. Butler

17: Violence
James A. Mercy and Sarah DeGue
Box 17-1: War and Public Health
Barry S. Levy
Box 17-2: The International Arms Trade
Barry S. Levy
Box 17-3: Nuclear Weapons and Social Injustice
Robert M. Gould and Patrice M. Sutton

18: Environmental Health
Barry S. Levy
Box 18-1: Childhood Lead Poisoning
Howard Hu
Box 18-2: Impact of Natural Disasters on Social Justice
Linda Young Landesman
Box 18-3: Planetary Health
Samuel S. Myers

19: Occupational Health and Safety.
Linda Rae Murray
Box 19-1: Economic Globalization
Ellen R. Shaffer and Joseph E. Brenner

20: Oral Health
Myron Allukian, Jr., and Alice M. Horowitz
Box 20-1: Oral Health Inequalities in Low-income Countries

21: International and Global Health
Barry S. Levy
Box 21-1: Trafficking in Persons
Box 21-2: Hunger and Malnutrition in Low- and Middle-income Countries
Box 21-3: Export of Hazardous Substances from High-income Countries to Low- and Middle-income Countries

Part IV: An Agenda for Action

22: Addressing Social Injustice in a Human Rights Context
Sofia Gruskin and Paula Braveman
Box 22-1: Promoting the Rights of "Undocumented Immigrants"
Carmen R. Nevarez

23: Promoting Social Justice Through Public Health Policies, Programs, and Services
Alonzo Plough and Priya Gandhi

24: Strengthening Communities and the Roles of Individuals in Building Community Life
Robert E. Aronson, Kay Lovelace, John W. Hatch, and Tony L. Whitehead
Box 24-1: Strengthening Communities in Low-Income Countries
Gail Snetro-Plewman and Angela Brasington
Box 24-2: How a Community-Based Foundation Addresses Health Consequences of Social Injustice
Martin D. Cohen

25: Promoting Social Justice Through Education in Public Health
Robert S. Lawrence
Box 25-1: International Declaration of Health Rights
Box 25-2: Teaching Health Equity in a Community-based Program
Shelley K. White

26: A Critical Research Agenda for Social Justice and Public Health: An Ecosocial Proposal
Nancy Krieger

27: Protecting Human Rights through International and National Law
Henry A. Freedman and Martha F. Davis
Box 27-1: Preventing Torture
Leonard S. Rubenstein and Vincent Iacopino

28: Learning from the Social Movements of the 1960s
Oliver Fein and Charlotte Phillips

29: Promoting Health with Equitable and Sustainable Human Development
Richard Jolly
Box 29-1: The Role of International Non-governmental Organizations in Promoting Equitable and Sustainable Human Development
Raymond C. Offenheiser and M. Porter McConnell
Box 29-2: The Roles of Foundations in Promoting Equitable and Sustainable Human Development
Mark Sidel

Index