Talking About Health

"The book considers what makes an excellent face-to-face health and safety contact on the workplace, and why these contacts are a fundamental building block of any strong, caring and empowering workplace culture. It stresses the vital importance of inquiry, empathy and analysis in understanding what employees need to mitigate risk factors around safety and mental health. This revised and updated edition includes empowering methodologies that directly address mental health and well-being issues and the challenges organisations face in a post COVID19 era. The reader will gain an understanding of the day-to-day mechanisms of why "culture is king" and how everyone contributes every-day to this truism. This book covers how interactions regarding leadership and teamwork directly lead to the amount of human error and fallibility an organisation can expect to need to manage, and how taking pro-active, analytical and empowering approaches to safety and health is key to identifying and mitigating risks. Talking Health, Safety and Wellbeing explains why it is so important to talk about health and safety issues pro-actively. Written in an accessible and engaging manner, this book is an ideal read for any frontline supervisor, HR manager, mental health first aider, safety rep or company director"--

"Public health policies and practices have an impact on most everyone's daily life. Practitioners monitor emerging infections and rates of chronic disease, conduct food safety and restaurant inspections, and work to reduce the likelihood of injuries, among dozens of other complex, science-based responsibilities designed to improve the public's health and well-being"--

"... For six months in 1980 and for three months in 1981 I lived in Samoan villages and studied healing practices. I observed and interviewed both traditional healers and western trained health professionals in Western Samoa. Now, based on my experiences both in New Zealand and in Western Samoa, I present some of my insights -- gained from observation, interview, group discussions and reflection -- as they relate to the New Zealand scene ... The book should be read as an introduction to cross-cultureal communication and health as well as to Samoan and to other non-western health practices. Enough information is provided so that western health professionals can have a sensible conversation with their Samoan patients, and vice versa. Some health professionals will, I hope, stop to reflect on the existence of cultural differences in talking health and in doing sickness. Where a western health professional reads this book and reflects on the nature of medical practice and the usage/provision of health care and begins to talk about western ways of doing sickness as only one possible way, a breakthrough will have occurred. This would amount to the recognition that what it means to be sick is culturally defined, that medical treatment and health services are cultural practices and culturally specific forms ..." -- Introduction.

The book considers what makes an excellent face-to-face health and safety contact in the workplace, and why these contacts are a fundamental building block of any strong, caring, and empowering workplace culture. It stresses the vital importance of inquiry, empathy, and analysis in understanding what employees need to mitigate risk factors around safety and mental health. This revised and updated edition includes empowering methodologies that directly address mental health and well-being issues and the challenges organisations face in a post COVID19 era. The reader will gain an understanding of the day-to-day mechanisms of why “culture is king” and how everyone contributes every-day to this truism. This book covers how interactions regarding leadership and teamwork directly lead to the amount of human error and fallibility an organisation can expect to need to manage, and how taking proactive, analytical, and empowering approaches to safety and health is key to identifying and mitigating risks. Talking Health, Safety and Wellbeing explains why it is so important to talk about health and safety issues proactively. Written in an accessible and engaging manner, this book is an ideal read for any frontline supervisor, HR manager, mental health first aider, safety rep, or company director.

The last time you went to your doctor, you might have emerged feeling dissatisfied and disoriented. Nothing was clear after you left the office, and you don't know whether it's your fault or the doctor's. But that's beside the point: the important thing is to identify the problem at the root of this experience and take steps to change it. Talking to Your Doctor helps readers navigate the new, more promising waters of doctor-patient collaboration, starting at the simplest and most human interaction--the conversation between two people in a room--and ending with the benefits that can be obtained by cultivating an effective partnership. While patients need to take control of the visit and set their agenda, the latest research shows that doctors and patients need to connect on a more emotional level as well. In Talking to Your Doctor, readers will: -Learn how to talk to your doctor--and get your doctor to talk to you -Discover the science of doctor-patient communication and its relevance to the lay public -Remake the relationship with your doctor, and our health care system, on the basis of good communication -Make sure your visit with the doctor is productive and meets your needs -Help yourself and others avoid over-testing and over-treatment Starting with the conversation can redress imbalances and put the relationship of doctor and patient, and eventually the entire health care system, back on a healthy footing. Using illuminating model dialogues, real transcripts from the clinic and hospital, resources for communication improvement, and a brief history of doctor-patient communication, the author helps readers develop strategies for obtaining better care from their doctors, from the minute they step into the exam room.

Does fibrocystic breast disease put you at greater risk for breast cancer? When is the best age to talk to your child about sex? Why is exercise so good at relieving stress? Should you automatically accept the doctor assigned by a hospital? Does aspirin help reduce your risk of heart disease? Should you take vitamin supplements as part of a healthy diet? As a family practitioner, Dr. Brian McDonough believes that everyone should have a general understanding of how their bodies work, what they can do to develop healthy lifestyles, when to consult a health care provider, and how to use the health care system wisely. Dr. McDonough has brought together sixteen leading experts to address common health problems and disease prevention. In easy-to-understand language, each expert discusses the fundamentals of topics ranging from routine problems to life-threatening diseases. Based on the format of Dr. McDonough's syndicated radio program, "Health Talk America," this book features straightforward answers to the questions mostly commonly asked by members of the radio audience in response to each topic. Talking Health targets the subjects likely to be of concern to you or someone you know--including AIDS, cancers, children's health and diet, exercise and sports medicine, eye conditions, heart health and disease, nutrition and disease prevention, pregnancy management, sinusitis and allergies, skin conditions, sleep regulation, and voice disorders. One of the many highlights of this book is a chapter on health care choices; its suggestions for finding a good doctor or hospital, preparing for a hospital stay, and handling the cost of medical care will help alleviate the anxiety often experienced when faced with these realities. The clear, nontechnical explanations make Talking Health an invaluable resource for those of us who take an active role in achieving and maintaining good health. Author note: Winner of an Emmy Award for Excellence in Medical Broadcasting, Brian P. McDonough, M.D., is a nationally syndicated medical correspondent and Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health at the Temple University School of Medicine. He is a practicing physician and also the host of US Air's "Health Talk America."