Most scholars are familiar with the published works of the National Academies Press (NAP). The mission behind the scholarly publications has been in existence since 1863 as a private, nonprofit society of scholars and was created under the leadership of President Abraham Lincoln.

In 2013, NAP publications continue to provide a wealth of FREE information for both academicians and students.

NAP has published several new references to improve understanding of local to global health issues. These downloads are available at http://www.nap.edu/. Three publications have provided additional curriculum for community/public health, health policy, and global health courses.

1. Evaluating Obesity Prevention Efforts: A Plan for Measuring Progress addresses obesity as the largest current public health challenge. Content includes information on consequences for health, economic, and social concerns. This book outlines detailed plans that have demonstrated positive outcomes in reducing this healthcare crisis (http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18334).

2. US Health in International Perspective: Shorter Lives, Poorer Health reports a data-driven picture of the United States in relation to other comparable countries. The US health disadvantage is nondiscriminatory for rich and poor, majority and minority. Strategies for cause and intervention range from personal behaviors to government and organizational influences to improve the health of the nation (http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13497).

3. Best Care and Lower Cost: The Path to Continuously Learning Health Care in America discusses the complexity and costs of healthcare including quality and economic barriers as well as healthcare spending waste. It is a call to action for everyone from consumers of care to providers and payer sources (http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13444).

Submitted by: Alma Jackson, PhD, RN, COHN-S, News Editor atmailto:[email protected].