Healthcare – Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

The Cure for Women: Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi & the Challenge to Victorian Medicine That Changed Women’s Lives Forever

By Scott J. Pearson | March 2, 2026March 2, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

By the end of the Victorian age, men had dominated medical practice for centuries, but women were beginning to make inroads into the profession. A few, Mary Putnam Jacobi being the first, made inroads in European training centers and returned to the US to integrate women into American medicine. In this book, Lydia Reeder narrates their struggle and eventual victory that depathologized being a woman. By pursuing their personal questions, these women physician-scientists brought obstetrics…

Healthcare Society

Reimagining Global Health: An Introduction

By Scott J. Pearson | February 1, 2026February 1, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

Global health is a field known, in the past, as international health and colonial health. It has recently sought to center itself around health equity – that every person deserves decent healthcare to have a decent life. Thus, it has tried to remove any shackles of Western imperialism from its conceptualization. Also recently, Paul Farmer and Partners in Health have brought attention to the field, especially in Haiti and Rwanda. A large braintrust centered around…

Healthcare Research-Education

The National Institutes of Health: 1991-2008

By Scott J. Pearson | December 14, 2025December 14, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

To those interested in healthcare research in America, understanding the National Institutes of Health (NIH) represents a formidable challenge. Few books address the topic well, and most investigators follow the NIH’s trends with deep interest. Even though this book represents history from decades ago – 15 years is a long time in American politics and in research – this book remains relevant to understand the historical trends still operative in this great institution. Reading this…

Healthcare Society

The Political Determinants of Health

By Scott J. Pearson | November 23, 2025November 23, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

In scientific circles, the “social determinants of health” is a common phrase used to describe how one’s zip code can have more impact on health outcomes than one’s personal health. This book plays off that title by describing how America’s political situation – whether one is part of a favored class or note – can influence health outcomes. It takes particular aim at health inequities in American history. Daniel Dawes describes attempts in American history…

Healthcare Research-Education

Institutional Review Board Member Handbook

By Scott J. Pearson | September 28, 2025September 28, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

Institutional Review Boards, or IRBs, review human-subjects research to ensure that they ethically affirm the rights of the participants in their research. I have some projects about to undergo IRB review, and though I’ve had successful reviews in the past, I wanted to better understand the issues involved in IRB approval. This book offered a concise, evidence-based summary of those very issues. The book is written primarily for those who are about to serve on…

Healthcare

Contemporary Public Health: Principles, Practice & Policy

By Scott J. Pearson | September 20, 2025September 20, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

Many public-health books are either focused on one specific topic or introduce the entire field to a reader. The latter mainly appeal to those taking public health in academic settings. This book, however, consists of an anthology of various public health experts writing about America’s public healthcare system. It seeks to bring readers of introductions to a knowledge level more congruent with the contemporary landscape, as the title suggests. What is public health? Public health…

Healthcare HIV/AIDS Religion-Philosophy

Women, HIV & the Church: In Search of Refuge

By Scott J. Pearson | July 19, 2025July 19, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

First, I want to acknowledge the nobility of this book’s purpose. HIV is a dehumanizing condition that only worsens with stigma. Today, both women and orphans are disproportionately affected, and both groups have traditionally been objects of the church’s compassion. However, such a compassionate orientation hasn’t been the case with HIV; instead, stigma reigns, especially in countries hardest hit by the epidemic. This book represents a direct call for the church to instead reclaim its…

Healthcare

Overcoming Metabolic Syndrome

By Scott J. Pearson | July 13, 2025July 13, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

Metabolic syndrome is a growing problem, particularly in America with widespread obesity. This book was published in 2006 and updated in 2009, but the problem has become worse, not better, since then. What is it? Metabolic syndrome is loosely defined as a bunch of symptoms that can worsen together, including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, a fatty liver, and cardiovascular problems. None of these conditions by themselves are good, but together, they can…

Healthcare Psychology Science

Second & Third Generation Antipsychotics: A Comprehensive Handbook

By Scott J. Pearson | July 12, 2025July 12, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

Therapies for serious mental illness – namely, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder – have become more prevalent in recent decades. Second- and now third-generation antipsychotics more effectively deal with symptoms while having less stigma-provoking side effects. These diseases, once intractable, are now relatively treatable. This book provides a well-documented summary of the research about these drugs. Reading this book is not for the feint of heart. It’s highly technical and requires significant biomedical literacy. Most patients…

Healthcare Kids Software-Technology

I’m a Biomedical Informatics Expert Now!

By Scott J. Pearson | July 7, 2025July 6, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

As someone in his mid-forties, I’m not in the intended audience for this book. Like the author, I went to medical school and work in biomedical informatics. I love figuring out how to help scientists and researchers help advance their ideas to better help patients. Having met and worked with Kevin Johnson, I can say that he’s the perfect person to write this book. He’s super smart but still approachable. He has a consistently great…