Building on earlier patient-empowerment movements, consumer- and advocate-driven mental health self-help (MHSH) initiatives currently outnumber traditional mental health organizations. At the same time, this apparent success raises significant questions about their short-term efficacy and their value to lasting recovery. Mental Health Self-Help assembles the state of the evidence on the effectiveness of MHSH, beginning with the individual and larger social factors behind the expansion of consumer-directed services. Clearly organized and accessibly written, the book traces the development and evolution of MHSH as both alternative and adjunct to traditional mental health structures, offers research-based perspectives on the various forms of MHSH, and identifies potential areas for consumer initiatives to work with-and help improve-mental health systems. Contributors weigh strengths and limitations, raise research and methodology questions, and discuss funding and training issues to give readers a deeper understanding of the field and an informed look at its future impact on mental health treatment. Individual chapters cover the spectrum of contemporary self-help initiatives in mental health, including: * Online mutual aid groups. * Consumer-run drop-in centers. * Family and caregiver groups. * Certified peer support specialists. * Consumer advocacy initiatives. * Technical assistance organizations. * Professional/self-help collaborations. Mental Health Self-Help is a bedrock guide to an increasingly influential aspect of the mental health landscape. Researchers studying these initiatives from a variety of fields including community and clinical psychology, and public health-as well as clinicians, counselors, social workers, case managers, and policymakers-will find it an indispensable reference.

Mathematical models are being increasingly used to estimate the concentrations of a wide range of substances in the environment for a variety of reasons, including government control and legislation, and risk and hazard estimation. Exposure assessment has to be performed for many types of substances, including pesticides, industrial chemicals, pollutants, accidental discharges, etc. The interpretation of the results of model equations should always bear in mind the purpose for which the model used was built in the first place. Further, models are always an abstraction of reality, requiring simplifying assumptions to keep the models within the restraints posed by computer performance and/or scientific knowledge. The present book treats the theme of modelling chemical exposure and risk in terms of four main topics: model characteristics, applications, comparison of estimated with measured concentrations, and modelling credibility.

This timely volume examines the potential of integrated care in providing effective, accessible behavioral healthcare for Latino clients. The integrated care model is discussed in practical terms, with guidelines for the addressing the needs of Latinos in a coordinated, patient-focused setting. Specific points of attention include common behavioral and medical/mental health conditions (e.g., depression, chronic pain, tobacco use), special considerations in working with Puerto Rican and Cuban clients, and recommendations for working with children. These important issues are considered against the backdrop of opportunities and challenges inherent in integrated care and its implementation, in addition to the relevance of evidence-based interventions for this large and diverse population. Among the topics covered: Latino trends and health policy: from walking on eggshells to commitment Integrated health care for Latino immigrants and refugees: what do they need? Using a translator in integrated care settings Enhancing and improving treatment engagement with Hispanic patients Integrated depression care among Latinos Chronic disease management and integrated care among Hispanic populations Health psychologists, social workers, family physicians, and clinical psychologists will find Enhancing Behavioral Health in Latino Populations an important resource for their professional development, as well as part of the ongoing movement toward reduced disparities and more inclusive and culturally attuned care.

This is the sixth volume in a series dedicated to publishing current research and conceptual papers in the broad ranging area of the sociology of health.

A state-of-the-art collection of readily reproducible laboratory methods for DNA identity analysis, including Y chromosome haplotyping, mtDNA, and SNP typing. The book offers well-tested protocols for DNA quantification using real-time PCR on forensic samples and for the determination of the number of amelogenine gene copies. For forensic geneticists, there are readily reproducible methods for species identification, ancient DNA, and pharmacogenetics. Additional chapters address new applications in the forensic genetics lab, such a species identification or typing of CYP polymorphisms for the analysis of adverse to drugs.

Social Networks, Drug Injectors' Lives, and HIV/AIDS recognizes HIV as a socially structured disease - its transmission usually requires intimate contact between individuals - and shows how social networks shape high-risk behaviors and the spread of HIV. The authors recount the groundbreaking use of social network methods, ethnographic direct-observation techniques, and in-depth interviews in their study of a drug-using community in Brooklyn, New York. They provide a detailed documentary of the lives of community members. They describe drug-use, the affects of poverty and homelessness, the acquisition of money and drugs, and social relationships within the group. Social Networks, Drug Injectors' Lives, and HIV/AIDS shows that social networks and contexts are of crucial importance in understanding and fighting the AIDS epidemic. These findings should revitalize prevention efforts and reshape social policy.

This book deals specifically with the historical basis for use of terms in race, gender, ethnicity, sex and sexual orientation. It brings much needed clarity to the debate by identifying the ethical issues as well as the technical challenges inherent in measuring these elusive concepts. The author expands on her work begun in Gender, Ethnicity, and Health Research by paralleling the evolution of racial and sexual categories with the development of health research. In addition, the book provides a salient guide to assessment tools currently used in measuring racial and sexual constructs, identity, and experience.

This book reviews broad social changes affecting youth development and the inconsistency of the legal system in updating its approach to adolescents' rights. Legal experts examine current adolescent protections and offer research-based proposals for revising laws that underserve or criminalize youth under the rubric of protection. Focusing on the key areas of technology and media, education, and personal relationships, chapters discuss legal responses to a range of challenges impacting young people, including sexual exploitation, the right to privacy, military family issues, and the school-to-prison pipeline. The book's nuanced concept of legal protection credits youth with greater competence than currently afforded, in hope that adolescents can take more ownership of their evolving lives in a rapidly changing society. Topics featured in this volume include: How to balance freedom of expression with adolescents' right to data protection. The sexualization of media and its effects on youth attitudes and behaviors. The rising phenomenon of teenage sexting. Protecting students' sexual identity in private schools. Youth sex and labor trafficking and possible solutions to alleviate the widespread crime. Adolescents, Rapid Social Change, and the Law is a must-have resource for researchers and professors, clinicians and related professionals as well as graduate students in developmental psychology, family studies, public health, educational policy and politics, and social policy.

This handbook provides students of quality-of-life (QOL) research with an understanding of how QOL research can be conducted from an ethical marketing perspective - a perspective based on positive social change. The handbook covers theoretical, philosophical, and measurement issues in QOL research. The handbook also approaches selected QOL studies in relation to various populations in various life domains. The marketing approach is highly pragmatic because it allows social and behavioral scientists from any discipline to apply marketing concepts to plan social change and assess the impact of intervention strategies on the QOL of targeted populations.

In "Malaria: Poverty, Race, and Public Health in the United States," Margaret Humphreys presents the first book-length account of the parasitic, insect-borne disease that has infected millions and influenced settlement patterns, economic development, and the quality of life at every level of American society, especially in the south.

Humphreys approaches malaria from three perspectives: the parasite's biological history, the medical response to it, and the patient's experience of the disease. It addresses numerous questions including how the parasite thrives and eventually becomes vulnerable, how professionals came to know about the parasite and learned how to fight them, and how people view the disease and came to the point where they could understand and support the struggle against it.

In addition "Malaria: Poverty, Race, and Public Health in the United States "argues that malaria control was central to the evolution of local and federal intervention in public health, and demonstrates the complex interaction between poverty, race, and geography in determining the fate of malaria.

This book provides a current perspective on alcohol and aging to better understand the trends, costs, benefits, and clinical and community evidenced-based strategies. This book embraces not only the physical, cognitive, psychological, and social health benefits of moderate drinking in the elderly, it also delves into the risks of excessive drinking, including physical and psychiatric morbidity, neurodegeneration, medication complications, and accidents and injuries, and loss of independence. Written by experts in the field, this book is the only current text that includes the most current scientific, research, empirical, and practice information alongside a comprehensive review of the status of the field that will help guide alcohol use management and stimulate future research. Alcohol and Aging is the ultimate resource for all researchers, educators, clinicians, and professionals working with older adults who drink.

MicroRNA research and development is the billion-dollar baby and most lucrative option for drug discovery in gene therapy industries worldwide. Personalized microRNA treatments are in many cases the only remedy for viral diseases that have no cure in conventional drugs and offer to bring us closer than ever to "personalized medicine." They also counteract cancer and other infectious and neuro-diseases. Early diagnosis, prognosis, staging, and sub-classification of various cancers can easily be facilitated by microRNA-based biomarkers. MicroRNA surveys recent advances in RNA and RNA-protein components that highlight RNA delivery, its stability, and applications of RNA-based drugs for the modulation of gene/protein expression and gene editing. The book not only focuses on the modern medicines of microRNA-based early diagnostic and therapy development, but also works as a hidden treasure for drug discovery of multiple rare diseases worldwide. It offers indispensable learning materials for academic researchers, graduate, and medical students, and offers a powerful practical guide for RNA-Pharma and gene therapy industries.

View the Table of Contents. Read the Preface.

aProvides an in-depth look at the ineffectiveness of certain public health disease control measures such as quarantine, isolation of patient contacts, and the importance of using knowledge of the pathogenas disease ecology for the development and implementation of effective control measures.a
--"International Journal of African Historical Studies"

aEchenbergas richly textured and deeply discerning account of the last plague pandemic is, as he points out, a cautionary tale of the politics of disease control in a globalized world. It should become compulsory reading for all who are engaged in the construction of the new discipline of global public health.a
--"New England Journal of Medicine"

aEchenberg's richly textured and deeply discerning account of the last plague pandemic is, as he points out, a cautionary tale of the politics of disease control in a globalized world. It should become compulsory reading for all who are engaged in the construction of the new discipline of global public health.a
--Dorothy Porter in "The New England Journal of Medicine"

a[Echenberg] does an excellent job of presenting complex political and social consequences of the plague.a
--"Choice," Recommended

aAn extensive comparative study.a
--"Science News"

aIn an era when global issues have come to dominate public health discourse, Echenberg depicts the bubonic plague epidemic that struck six continents in the decades around 1900. With sophistication and sensitivity, he parses the multiple medical cultures, political systems, and varieties of popular response that met the plague. Few historians would take on such a daunting task: ofchronicling an epidemic in ten cities, working with sources in more than a dozen languages, and comprehending multiple systems of medical thought. Echenberg pulls it off. Plague Ports is a masterwork of global health history.
a--Margaret Humphreys, Duke University

"The 1800s were, from Jenner to Pasteur to Koch, the years in which more progress was made in controlling infectious disease than in the previous 10,000, yet at the end of that century Plague swept round the world and killed multitudes as if to admonish us for our arrogance. Most of us today, even students of medical history, have avoided paying heed to that admonishment. Myron Echenberg's excellent scholarship and scientific sophistication oblige us, as we cower under the threat of avian flu, to pay the Third Bubonic Plague pandemic the attention it deserves."
--Alfred Crosby, University of Texas and author of "Children of the Sun: A History of Humanity's Unappeasable Appetite for Energy"

A century ago, the third bubonic plague swept the globe, taking more than 15 million lives. Plague Ports tells the story of ten cities on five continents that were ravaged by the epidemic in its initial years: Hong Kong and Bombay, the Asian emporiums of the British Empire where the epidemic first surfaced; Sydney, Honolulu and San Francisco, three "pearls" of the Pacific; Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro in South America; Alexandria and Cape Town in Africa; and Oporto in Europe.

Myron Echenberg examines plague's impact in each of these cities, on the politicians, the medical and public health authorities, and especially on the citizenry, many of whom were recent migrants crammed into grim living spaces. He looks at how differentcultures sought to cope with the challenge of deadly epidemic disease, and explains the political, racial, and medical ineptitudes and ignorance that allowed the plague to flourish. The forces of globalization and industrialization, Echenberg argues, had so increased the transmission of microorganisms that infectious disease pandemics were likely, if not inevitable.

This fascinating, expansive history, enlivened by harrowing photographs and maps of each city, sheds light on urbanism and modernity at the turn of the century, as well as on glaring public health inequalities. With the recent outbreaks of SARS and avian flu, and ongoing fears of bioterrorism, Plague Ports offers a necessary and timely historical lesson.

Primary care, grounded in the provision of continuous comprehensive person-centred care, is of paramount importance in the delivery of accessible and effective health care around the world. The central notion of person-centred care, however, relies on often-unexamined concepts of self, or understandings of what it means to be a person and an agent. This cutting-edge book explores contemporary pressures on the sense of self for both patient and health professional within a consultation and argues that building new concepts of the self is essential if we are to reinvigorate the central tenets of person-centred primary care. Contemporary trends such as shared decision-making between health professionals and patients and promoting self-management assume those involved are able to make their own decisions and take action. In practice, however, medicine often opts for reductionist perspectives of patients as passive mechanical systems and diseases as puzzles. At the same time, huge political and organisational changes mean time and resources are scarce, putting further pressure on consultations. This book discusses how we can start to resolve these tensions. The first part considers problems posed by the increasing bureaucratisation of primary care, the impact of information technology in the consultation, the effects of chronic disease on our sense of self and how an emphasis on biology over biography leads to over-diagnosis. The second part proposes solutions based on a strong ontology of consciousness, concepts of creative capacity, coherence and engagement, and will show how these can enhance the self-esteem of patients and doctors and benefit their therapeutic dialogue. Combining theoretical perspectives from philosophy, sociology and healthcare research with insights drawn from clinical practice, this edited volume is suitable for those researching and studying primary healthcare, communication and relationships in healthcare and the medical humanities.

Every 18 minutes, there is a suicide attempt somewhere in the United States, with some 30,000 of those resulting in completed suicide each year. Worldwide, there are more than 1 million suicides annually. We know the basic facts: Most of the people were depressed or suffered another mental illness, and many were facing stressful life events with which they could not cope. But is there no way to prevent the tragedy? Author Kristine Bertini, a clinical psychologist, says one of the most effective means may be to understand first how suicidal tendencies and thinking develop, how environment, biology, culture, and societal factors all play a role in predisposing some people to give up hope and see death as the only way to end their suffering. In this book, Bertini explains the development of suicidal thinking and, through patient vignettes, illustrates the ways this thinking develops. She also describes and illustrates signals friends and loved ones as well as professionals can watch for pointing to such thinking, which may be kept secretive by the person at risk, as well as approaches that can be used to alter tendencies and thinking for the person at risk. Treatments and programs are explained for coping and recovery by those who consider or attempt suicide, as are approaches to help friends, family, and others affected by completed suicides. This work includes consideration of suicide letters and the insights they have given professionals trying to stop such losses, as well as difficult questions that have been raised about the right to suicide. An appendix lists hotlines, counseling, therapy, and other support services nationwide.

General Practice Today explores the GP consultation in the context of external 'stressors' and 'helpers' that doctors use to make best clinical decisions. Over the last 30 years there has been a move towards mandatory training on legal aspects, risk scores and guidance. Additionally, with widespread access to IT there has been a huge growth in the information doctors need to know and manage. Yet today's GP has never been more time-poor or under so much pressure. All these outside considerations can seem challenging and remote for the doctor sat with their patient; yet in today's reality they have never been more important. This book offers insight into the practical impact and importance of these external factors. It offers advice on everything from law, technology and time management to mental health issues, ethics, religion and culture, exploring how to determine which issues are relevant to each individual consultation. Packing each chapter with realistic examples, author Jane Wilcock draws on her own extensive experience to help GPs make considered, contextual decisions that enhance the health and well-being of their patients. This book is essential reading for any General Practitioner, allied health care practitioner or trainee preparing to practice in our complex modern world.

This important text explores the deep relationships between poverty, health/mental health conditions, and widespread social problems as they affect the lives of low-income women. A robust source of both empirical findings and first-person descriptions by poor women of their living conditions, it exposes cyclical patterns of structural and environmental stressors contributing to impaired physical and mental health. Psychological conditions (notably depression and PTSD), substance use and abuse, domestic and gun-related violence, relationship instability, and hunger in low-income communities, especially among women of color, are discussed in detail. In terms of solutions, the book's contributors identify areas for major policy reform and make potent recommendations for community outreach, wide-scale intervention, and sustained advocacy. Among the topics covered:* The intersection of women's health and poverty.* Poverty, personal experiences of violence, and mental health.* The role of social support for women living in poverty.* The logic of exchange sex among women living in poverty.* Physical safety and neighborhood issues.* Exploring the complex intersections between housing environments and health behaviors among women living in poverty. A stark reminder that health should be considered a basic human right, Poverty in the United States: Women's Voices is a necessary reference for research professionals particularly interested in women's studies, HIV/AIDS prevention, poverty, and social policy.

This work introduces the concept of reformulation, a relatively new strategy to develop foods with beneficial properties. Food reformulation by definition is the act of re-designing an existing, often popular, processed food product with the primary objective of making it healthier. In recent years the concept of food reformulation has evolved significantly as additional benefits of re-designing food have become apparent. In addition to targeting specific food ingredients that are considered potentially harmful for human health, food reformulation can also be effectively used as a strategy to make foods more nutritious by introducing essential macro- /micro-nutrients or phytochemicals in the diet. Reformulating foods can also improve sustainability by introducing "waste" (and underutilized) ingredients into the food chain. In light of these developments, reformulating existing foods is now considered a realistic and attractive opportunity to provide healthy, nutritious, and sustainable food choices to the consumers and likewise improve public health. Indeed reformulation has now become essential in many cases for redressing the health properties of foods that are popularly consumed and significantly affecting public health. This edited volume covers aspects of food reformulation from various angles, exploring the role of the food industry, academia, and consumers in developing new products. Some of the major themes contributors address include methods of reformulating food products for health, improving the nutritional composition of foods, and challenges to the food industry, including regulation as well as consumer perception of new products. The book presents several case studies to clarify these objectives and illustrate the difficulties encountered in the process of developing a reformulated product. Chapters from experts in the field identify emerging and future trends in food product development, and highlight ways in which these efforts will help with increasing food security, improving nutrition and health, and promoting sustainable production. The editors have designed the book to be useful for both industry professionals and the research community. This interdisciplinary approach incorporates a wide spectrum of food sciences (including composition, engineering, and chemistry) as well as nutrition and public health. Food and nutrition professionals, policy makers, health care and social scientists, and graduate students will also find the information relevant.

This interdisciplinary volume offers theoretical, empirical, and practical insights into the strengths of families beset by chronic health issues. Featuring topics that run the lifespan from infancy to late adulthood, its coverage reflects both the diversity of family challenges in long-term illness and the wealth of effective approaches to intervention. The component skills of resilience in life-changing circumstances, from coping and meaning making to balancing care and self-care, are on rich display in a framework for their enhancement in therapy. The book's expert contributors include tools to aid readers in the learning and teaching of concepts as they model respectful, meaningful research methods and ethical, non-judgmental practice. Among the topics covered: Helping families survive and thrive through the premature birth of an infant. Enhancing coping and resiliency among families of individuals with sickle cell disease. A family science approach to pediatric obesity treatment. Risk and resilience of children and families involved with the foster care system. Strengthening families facing breast cancer: emerging trends and clinical recommendations. The unfolding of unique problems in later life families. With its mix of practical and empirical expertise, Family Resilience and Chronic Illness: Interdisciplinary and Translational Perspectives has much to offer both researchers in the family resilience field and mental health practitioners working with clients with chronic illness.

Over the next few years, the Connecting for Health IT programme for the NHS in England is due to implement electronic prescribing systems at all hospitals in England. Furthermore, the other UK countries are likely to follow suit with clinical IT implementation programmes, and these developments will generate interest in electronic prescribing at European and international level. There is therefore likely to be an exponential growth in the significance of electronic prescribing over the next ten years. Principles of Electronic Prescribing discusses the basic principles of design and implementation of secondary care electronic medicines management systems, and how their design and configuration can impact on benefits realization, hospital workflow and clinical practice.

The central idea for this book is that we lack consensus on principles for allocating resources and in the absence of such a consensus we must rely on a fair decision-making process for setting limits on health care. The authors characterize key elements of this process in a variety of health care contexts where such decisions are made- decisions about insurance coverage for new technologies, pharmacy benefit management, the design of physician incentives, contracting for mental health care by public agencies, etc.- and they connect the problem in the U.S. with the same problem in other countries. They provide a cogent analysis of the current situation, lucidly review the usual candidate solutions, and describe their own approach, which represents a clear advance in thinking. Their intended audience is international since the problem of limits cuts across types of health care systems whether or not they have universal coverage.

Regulatory constraints and current management practices put the onus on food manufacturers to take all responsible precautions where hygiene is concerned. A food hygiene audit is the first step towards identifying weaknesses in an operation and this book explains in detail the areas to be inspected during such an audit. The legislative situation is covered by authors from both sides of the Atlantic, although the procedures described are universally applicable. Many companies employ expensive consultants to advise them on this subject and this book provides a cost-effective supplement or alternative. Written primarily for those in the food industry concerned with hygiene, the book is also essential background for students and researchers in government and academic institutions.

Natural disasters traumatize individuals, disrupt families, and destabilize communities.Surviving these harrowing events calls for courage, tenacity, and resilience. Professional planning requires specific types of knowledge of how people meet and cope with extreme challenges.

"Disaster Resilience from a Sociological Perspective" examines three major earthquakes occurring in Italy over a fourteen - year period for a well-documented analysis of populations' responses to and recovery from disaster, the social variables involved, and the participation of public agencies. This timely volume reviews sociological definitions and models of disaster, identifying core features of vulnerability and multiple levels of individual and social resilience. The analysis contrasts the structural and supportive roles of Italy's civil protection and civil defense services in emergency planning and management as examples of what the author terms "professional" "resilience." And testimony from earthquake survivors and volunteers gives voice to the social processes characteristic of disaster. Among the areas covered: Social context for concepts of disaster, vulnerability, risk, and resilienceTypes of resilience: a multidimensional analysis, focused on a physical, ecological, and ecosystem perspectiveFindings from three earthquakes: loss, hope, and community.Two systems of organizational response to emergenciesToward a relational approach to disaster resilience planning Plus helpful tables, methodological notes, and appendices

For researchers in disaster preparedness, psychology, and sociology, "Disaster Resilience from a Sociological Perspective" raises--and addresses--salient questions about people and communities in crisis, and how studying them can improve preparedness in an uncertain future.

Pandemics, substance abuse, natural disasters, obesity, and warfare: these are not only health crises but social crises as well. Now a panel of leaders in global health explores the vital but understudied social theories behind the practice of health promotion, including cultural capital, risk and causality, systems theory, and the dynamic between individual and community.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PART 1 FISH CONSUMPTION AND METHYLMERCURY EXPOSURE IN THE AMAZON A. C. BARBOSA, A. M. GARCIA, J. R. DESOUZAI Mercurycontamination inhairofriverine 1-8 populations of Apiacas Reserve in the Brazilian Amazon E. D. BIDONE, Z. C. CASTILHOS, T. J. S. SANTOS, T. M. C. SOUZA and L. D. LACERDA I Fish contamination and human exposure to mercury in Tartarugalzinho River, Amapa State, Northern Amazon, Brazil. A screening approach 9-15 H. A. KEHRIG, O. MALM and H. AKAGI I Methylmercury in hair samples from different riverine groups, Amazon, Brazil 17-29 J. LEBEL, M. ROULET, D. MERGLER, M. LUCOTTE and F. LARRIBE I Fish diet and 31-44 mercury exposure in a riparian Amazonian population O. MALM. , J. R. D. GUIMARAES, M. B. CASTRO, W. R. BASTOS, J. P. VIANA, F. J. P. BRANCHES, E. G. SILVEIRA and W. C. PFEIFFER I Follow-up of mercury levels in fish, human hairand urine in the Madeira and Tapaj6s basins, Amazon, Brazil 45-51 PART 2 CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND LONG TERM EXPOSURE G. J. MYERS, P. W. DAVIDSON, C. COX, C. F. SHAMLAYE, O. CHOISY, E. CERNICHIARI, A. CHOI, J. SLOANE-REEVES, C. AXTELL, P. GAO and T. W. CLARKSON I The Seychelles child development study: Results and new directions through twenty-nine months 53-61 B. WHEATLEY, S. PARADIS, M. LASSONDE, M. -F. GIGUERE and S.