Wellness by the Numbers: Understanding and Interpreting American Health Statistics

Ideal for high school and lower undergraduate readers, this book provides a holistic and multifaceted look at the state of health in the United States today by examining a wide variety of health indicators against necessary background and contextual information. Wellness by the Numbers: Understanding and Interpreting American Health Statistics presents the factual data that underlies health summaries—information that is not often readily available to readers. The statistical data regarding a variety of health indicators, accompanied by contextual information and analyses, serves to inform high school and lower undergraduate readers about the state of health in America today. Just as importantly, this book will document how scholars and health professionals analyze data to draw conclusions and sharpen readers' critical thinking skills. The book begins with an introductory essay that provides a conceptual framework for readers and a general overview of the topic of analyzing health across the nation. The "Locating Accurate and Current Data on Health-Related Information" section clearly explains the process of analyzing and interpreting statistical information, describes how to find authoritative sources of data, and defines the steps to reading and interpreting data and how to draw conclusions from the information. Each of the more than 40 key health topics includes an introduction of the particular health indicator being discussed, presents the data in tables, charts, or figures with concise analysis and interpretation, and concludes with discussion questions that challenge the reader to find additional meaning or patterns in the data. Provides up-to-date, easy-to-understand, and thematically organized information on many key health topics Covers a wide array of important and often controversial health topics, from cancer risk to depression to teen pregnancy Models data analysis and interpretation to demonstrate how scholars and health professionals analyze data to draw conclusions, thereby guiding readers through thinking critically about the information presented Presents thought-provoking discussion questions that invite readers to explore topics further and think more deeply about the information presented