Saturday, December 28, 2013

Dr. John Carvalho's Mini-Review Of "Introduction To Global Health" By Kathryn H. Jacobsen:  I wanted to take a few moments to endorse the "Introduction to Global Health" textbook by Kathryn H. Jacobsen.  Jacobsen has been a global health expert for many years.  The chapters in her introductory book are perfect for beginning undergraduate or graduate students in the field of global health.  She covers a wide array of topics including the kinds of statistics used, the infectious disease causing organisms around the world, nutrition deficiencies, economics and health financing, and the status of national disease burden.  Jacobsen's book is reminiscent of my various virology courses that I have taught at both Harvard University and California State University, Dominguez Hills (Medical and Molecular Virology: Virus Diseases and World Health; Virology; Advanced Virology).  I applaud her for linking the ideas of how poverty exacerbates and feeds off of infectious diseases/national health and how education also plays a critical role.  These concepts have been talked about in my own scholarly writings and have been taught in my courses.  Similarly, I acknowledge her excellent chapters on the Millennium Development Goals, the UNHCR, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  These ideas are inseparable from virology on the global level and are critical for understanding public health and truly gauging "outcomes" of public health policy.  In conclusion, Jacobsen's book is a MUST READ for any beginning global health student.