Videos

What is global health?

The answer to this question should be fairly straightforward, but it is not really. It is a broad topic that entails multiple risks particularly to people in less-developed countries. However, even in developed countries there are numerous groups (e.g. some Indigenous Peoples) who have not reaped the benefits that are due to them. So, in watching this clip think broadly and think more locally.

The most dangerous global health threats | Larry Brilliant

This obviously has bearing on global health. As you watch this video consider that it was filmed in 2017. Larry Brilliant is not the first to make the statements that he does.

So many ways to die

This is not a video, but instead it is a large chart that depicts the most frequent causes of death within the United States (but probably similar to that in other developed countries), broken down by age. Given these pronounced age-related differences, attempts to limit untimely death ought to focus on different approaches for the various age clusters.

And this fascinating interactive video will give you all the stats you might want concerning different diseases around the world and the burden of disease (disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)).

Hazards, risks and safety

What do we mean when we say ‘hazard’ and when we use the term ‘risk’? They are different. This set of videos were all produced through Risk Bites organized by Andrew Maynard while he was at the University of Michigan Risk Science Center. Dr Maynard and his associates differentiate those terms for you using ‘whiteboard’ lectures that are remarkably effective in getting the messages across. We often want to know whether a hazard is present, and what the chances are that we will come into contact with the hazard, so that it becomes a risk. We also want to know whether we are safe from potential risks, and if we are not, then what can be done about this. The five very brief (2–3 min) videos make up a cohesive set. I am so taken by the whiteboard lectures, several others will appear over the course of the supplementary materials provided here.

Health risks

Risk in the health context refers to how things change (loss of health) given that certain events or experiences can cause our well-being to become worse or better. This set of three whiteboard Risk Bites clips is concerned with this issue, and how we can determine the risks people are facing and how these risks can be altered.

Precision medicine

Precision medicine is a relatively new approach to treatment that takes into account the characteristics of individuals (e.g. genetic and epigenetic factors, early-life experiences). In this video the focus is on the use of genetic factors in determining the treatments that should be applied.

What are the ethical considerations of analysing race? (7 min. terrific video).

This is one of my favourite video clips. There have been too many cases in which treatments for illnesses are applied on a one size-fits-all basis. Yet, we know that males and females are more or less prone to develop certain diseases, and the effects of drugs differ between the sexes. The same thing holds true for different races and cultures. Yet, the development of various treatments were based on features found in Euro-Caucasian males. To be sure, drugs are often tested for safety in other groups in varied countries, and in the past ethical consideration were abridged in creating treatments. This video is absolutely excellent and should be seen by anyone interested in health psychology and the social sciences more broadly.