The idea for this book was originally conceived by Terrill Mast in conversations with Roland Folse. Dr. Mast was dedicated to the belief that all medical teachers should be generalists with skills and knowledge in all aspects of the field. Before his untimely death, he recruited most of the prestigious contributors to this important new book.
This comprehensive volume features a review of the major topics in medical and surgical education by today's leading authorities in the field. The assembled authors represent a "Who's Who" in medical education around the world. Each chapter provides a state-of-the-art overview of the topic along with the projected changes most likely to occur over the next decade.
A "must-have" for anyone responsible for educating students, residents, and physicians in the medical and surgical fields, this new book addresses the critical medical educational issues of the next millennium, in one, comprehensive volume.

With its primary focus on the psychology of eating from a social, health, and clinical perspective, the second edition of "The" "Psychology of Eating: " "From" "Healthy to" "Disordered" "Behavior" presents an overview of the latest research into a wide range of eating-related behaviors Features the most up-to-date research relating to eating behaviorIntegrates psychological knowledge with several other disciplinesWritten in a lively, accessible styleSupplemented with illustrations and maps to make literature more approachable

This book explores the contemporary practice of Neo-shamanism and its relationship to mental health. Chapters cover the practice of Neo-shamanism, how it differs from traditional shamanism, the technology of the shamanic journey, the lifeworlds of some of its practitioners, as well as its benefits and pitfalls. The author's analysis draws on an in-depth study of existing literature, original qualitative-phenomenological research into the lifeworlds of practitioners, and nearly three decades of observation and experience as a student, teacher and practitioner of Neo-shamanism. She discusses the potential role of Neo-shamanic journey technology as an approach for psychology-based studies of consciousness and anomalous phenomena; its value as a tool for self-exploration as part of a supervised curriculum; as well as the possible therapeutic applications of the journey and shamanic healing protocols for use by mental health professionals. This book is a rich and timely resource for students and teachers of psychology, anthropology and sociology, psychotherapists, and anyone who is interested in consciousness and parapsychology.

Disease, injury, or congenital disorders result in an inability to perform activities of daily living as effectively as others. Most of these activities take place within and are dependent upon the designed environment. This book presents the specialized area of person-centered health care design, which focuses on a person's design needs because of one or more health conditions and requires foundational knowledge pertaining to infection control, bio-physiology, neuroscience, and basic biomechanics. Whether the designer has engaged in person- or condition-centered design, this book examines the causes that bring about health conditions, such as autoimmune disorders, chronic lung disease, muscular dystrophy, and neurological disorders, and the effects these have on a person's quality of life. Over forty various health conditions are discussed in relation to assorted building typologies-schools, group homes, rehabilitation and habilitation centers, and more-to identify design solutions for modifying each environment to best accommodate and support a person's needs. Dak Kopec encourages readers to think critically and deductively about numerous health conditions and how to best design for them. This book provides students and practitioners a foundational framework that supports the promotion of health, safety, and welfare as they pertain to a person's physiological, psychological, and sociological well-being.

Disease, injury, or congenital disorders result in an inability to perform activities of daily living as effectively as others. Most of these activities take place within and are dependent upon the designed environment. This book presents the specialized area of person-centered health care design, which focuses on a person's design needs because of one or more health conditions and requires foundational knowledge pertaining to infection control, bio-physiology, neuroscience, and basic biomechanics. Whether the designer has engaged in person- or condition-centered design, this book examines the causes that bring about health conditions, such as autoimmune disorders, chronic lung disease, muscular dystrophy, and neurological disorders, and the effects these have on a person's quality of life. Over forty various health conditions are discussed in relation to assorted building typologies-schools, group homes, rehabilitation and habilitation centers, and more-to identify design solutions for modifying each environment to best accommodate and support a person's needs. Dak Kopec encourages readers to think critically and deductively about numerous health conditions and how to best design for them. This book provides students and practitioners a foundational framework that supports the promotion of health, safety, and welfare as they pertain to a person's physiological, psychological, and sociological well-being.

As recently detailed in an Institute of Medicine Report, pain represents one of the most costly and prevalent public health conditions in the United States, and the burden of pain is substantially greater for women than men. Women make up half of the world's population. Yet, the overall treatment of pain in women remains challenging to this day. The differences between men and women are anatomical, physiological and psychosocial in nature. Consequently, several unique features come to mind when discussing pain as experienced by women, such as pain related to pregnancy, pain related specifically to female organs, and chronic painful conditions which have a higher prevalence in the female population. The purpose of this book is to address the current understanding of mechanisms related to sex differences, and the clinical management of common acute and chronic painful conditions in women, using up-to-date evidence-based information. The painful conditions discussed include those that are specific to female anatomy and physiology and conditions that have a higher female prevalence. The book is divided into three sections. The first section covers basic science topics related to sex differences in pain. The epidemiology of painful conditions with female prevalence; sex differences in response to pain, and to analgesics; the role of sex hormones and genotype in pain perception and analgesia; sex differences in cerebral responses to pain revealed by brain imaging ; and the role of psychosocial factors, including psychological interventions will be discussed in this section. The second and third sections are clinically directed. The second section focuses on pain specific to female patients. Topics include the management of labor pain; the management of painful conditions during pregnancy; and the management of pain in the opioid tolerant pregnant patient. The latter includes discussion on the impact of pain management on the fetus in utero, and on the newborn who is breastfed. Chronic pain specific to females, including dysmenorrhea, chronic pelvic pain and vulvodynia will be discussed in this section. Cancer-related pain issues in women will be addressed in the chapter on persistent pain after breast cancer treatment and the chapter on interventional management of pelvic cancer pain. The third section covers painful conditions with high female prevalence. These include fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and neuropathic pain in complex regional pain syndrome. Visceral pain with female prevalence such as irritable bowel syndrome, chronic pelvic pain of undetermined etiology will also be addressed in this section. This section also includes chapters on the presentation of cardiac pain in women; headaches including migraine; and temporomandibular joint disorders and orofacial pain. The book is intended for a wide readership, including physicians and allied healthcare professionals who encounter female patients with acute or chronic painful conditions. In addition, residents and medical students in training as well as graduate students in health sciences will benefit greatly from this book as they continue to learn about and manage difficult and complex issues related to pain in female patients.

The concept of health is a challenge of great complexity in terms of theoretical, methodological and intervention within the idiographic frame. Health cannot be considered an abstract condition, but a means, a resource aimed at achieving objectives that relate to the ability of people to lead their lives in a productive way- individually, socially, and economically. Health is a process that is not based on the definition of standards and categories on the basis of which typifying the states of health. Rather, it has to be considered a process, on a large scale and on many entangled levels, aimed at generating a culture of the health as a resource for individuals and communities and to promote skills needed to transform these resources into developmental goals. The notion of health, indeed, defined and interpreted in terms of ""state"" and not of process, meets the immediate paradox of being an indicator of normativity by reason of which we risk a proliferation of new and potentially infinite forms of ""deviation"". The approach of the idiographic sciences (see previous volumes of the Yearbook Idiographic Science Series, by same publisher IAP) considers that every psychological process (but in general every process, from organic to the social and cultural ones) is characterized by a contextual, situated and contingent dynamics. That dynamics is always characterized by a never-ending opening of its cycles and great variability. Conditions of stagnation and hypostatization are characteristic of all forms of disease (physical, mental and social) that sclerotize relational links between people and their environments. Health is therefore a process that presents oscillation in the same way of any developmental process that has moments of crisis and rupture in order to re-organize new forms of relationship with the social and cultural environment. This book represent a fruitful way to deep many cogent issues and to dialogue with an idiographic perspective in order to discuss the concept of health, to define its cultural meanings and possible polysemy (e.g., wellness, care, hygiene, quality of life, resilience, prevention, healing, deviation/normality, subjective potentiality for development, etc.), its areas of pertinence and intervention (somatic, psychological, social) trying to offer possible alternatives to the ""normalization"" of health and creating new incentives for the reflection.

This book explores the history, effects, diagnosis and treatment of chronic fatigue as well its significant links to other illnesses. Fatigue is a difficult symptom to accurately assess and quantify due to its subjective nature. Marie Thomas discusses the uncertainties and difficulties in its diagnosis as well as the broader effects of fatigue on quality of life. Fatigue is an increasingly reported problem in primary care, and one that is associated with other chronic conditions as a secondary symptom. Using several case studies, this book describes how in many cases, a patient's primary condition can be managed; however General Practitioners are left unable to address the fatigue experienced, especially in older adults. Chapters consider the interventions that exist to manage fatigue - especially in the case of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) - before highlighting the lack of strategies in primary care for dealing with the problem. In the final chapter Thomas discusses potential interventions and gives recommendations for future research regarding fatigue. This book will be of interest to academics and practitioners in healthcare and psychology, as well as to patient groups and those who care for individuals with fatigue.

The majority of cancer-related deaths are associated with nutritional problems. The major role that nutrition and diet play in the development and course of cancer had only been recently appreciated, and relatively little had been written on the topic in general. A critical component of nutrition and diet is eating behavior. Originally published in 1985, the purpose of this book was to meet the needs of both the clinician and the researcher by bringing together data and theory about nutrition and cancer from several disciplines, as considered from a biobehavioral perspective. The first chapter of the book provides an overview of the purposes and organization of the volume. The rest is divided into 3 parts. Part 1 focuses on basic research concerned with the nature and development of taste aversions and taste preferences in human and animals. Part 2 applies the basic processes reviews in the first part to the cancer area, focusing on eating and nutritional problems related to both tumor development and to learned processes that develop as a result of being exposed to radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments. Part 3 focuses on identifying and evaluating intervention strategies for improving the nutritional status of people with cancer or at high risk for developing cancer.

This accessible text provides trainee human service providers and those currently working in the field with a comprehensive, cutting-edge overview of topics related to the medical and therapeutic use of cannabis. Employing an interdisciplinary, biopsychosocial framework, the book explores the different biological, cultural, and policy contexts of medical cannabis from a wide range of perspectives including practitioners, academics, and medical cannabis advocates. This book bridges the gap between theory and practice and underscores the urgent need for expanded and rigorous scientific research as medical cannabis is increasingly legalized, that may result in new cannabis-based medicines and help in identifying what health risks cannabis use may present. Chapters are both evidence-based and practical, weaving in learning objectives, review questions, and varied case examples, all of which will prepare students and professionals for the reality of working with medical cannabis consumers.

Recent studies show that more people than ever before are reaching old age in better health and enjoying that health for a longer time. This Handbook outlines the latest discoveries in the study of aging from bio-medicine, psychology, and socio-demography. It treats the study of aging as a multidisciplinary scientific subject, since it requires the interplay of broad disciplines, while offering high motivation, positive attitudes, and behaviors for aging well, and lifestyle changes that will help people to stay healthier across life span and in old age. Written by leading scholars from various academic disciplines, the chapters delve into the most topical aspects of aging today - including biological mechanisms of aging, aging with health, active and productive aging, aging with satisfaction, aging with respect, and aging with dignity. Aimed at health professionals as well as general readers, this Cambridge Handbook offers a new, positive approach to later life.

A Genealogy of Puberty Science explores the modern invention of puberty as a scientific object. Drawing on Foucault's genealogical analytic, Pinto and Macleod trace the birth of puberty science in the early 1800s and follow its expansion and shifting discursive frameworks over the course of two centuries. Offering a critical inquiry into the epistemological and political roots of our present pubertal complex, this book breaks the almost complete silence concerning puberty in critical theories and research about childhood and adolescence. Most strikingly, the book highlights the failure of ongoing medical debates on early puberty to address young people's sexual and reproductive embodiment and citizenships. A Genealogy of Puberty Science will be of great interest to academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of child and adolescent health research, critical psychology, developmental psychology, health psychology, feminist and gender studies, medical history, science and technology studies, and sexualities and reproduction studies.

This special issue is devoted to the cancerchemopreventive effects of the trace element selenium. Although epidemiological and animal model studies have contributed enormously to this field, the clinical trial headed by the late Dr. Larry Clark brought to light the very real possibility that selenium compounds may serve as protective agents in populations at risk for prostate, colon, and lung cancers. For this reason, experts from various disciplines have been brought together to address the current state of the knowledge of the role of selenium as an anticancer agent. It is hoped that by bringing these various approaches together in one place, the research community, both graduate students and established investigators, can better grasp the complex nature of this field. The papers in this issue cover the entire spectrum of cancer research, ranging from clinical trials to animal model studies and molecular biology.

This book provides a socio-psychological enquiry of the phenomenon of suicide in the Indian context. It addresses the rising trend of suicides across the world and through case studies explores its primary reasons, the after-effects on survivors and families and measures to prevent them. The volume focuses on deciphering the social and psychological meanings associated with suicide. Through an examination of psycho-social autopsies of numerous cases, it highlights the patterns and trends which emerge around mental well-being, suicide and bereavement. It examines the primary roadblocks for robust suicide prevention measures and provides great insights into behavioral and personality categories and their relationship with suicide. Offering theoretical and empirical perspectives on the issue of suicide and self-harm, this book will be of interest to students, researchers, and faculty of behavioral sciences, psychology, social anthropology, demography, criminology, social work and sociology. It will also be an essential read for psychologists and counselors, policy makers, NGOs, CSOs, legal experts and media personnel working in the area of suicide prevention and research.

Originally published in 1984, the study of psychological aspects of health was a rapidly expanding enterprise. Most of the contributors to this volume were trained as social psychologists or by social psychologists. Some have been more applied in their focus or on the edge of several fields. All, however, share a common approach, focusing on the individual as he or she is buffeted about by social forces and copes with these forces. All consider situational and psychological factors in the determination of behavior, emotion, or cognition and all apply their expertise to the study of health-related issues. The grouping of the chapters in this volume by the authors' subspecialty, social psychology, is a somewhat unconventional method of clustering. Ordinarily, the materials presented here would be published in journals or texts concerned with behavior or psychosocial in health and medicine, or in specialty publications dealing with a particular disease or health issue. That clustering of articles is functional in providing information to those most likely to utilize it, but it diffuses the origin and background of the studies. These chapters speak to the diversity of health issues that are amenable to successful social psychological analysis.

Drawing on interdisciplinary, cross-national perspectives, this open access book contributes to the development of a coherent scientific discourse on social exclusion of older people. The book considers five domains of exclusion (services; economic; social relations; civic and socio-cultural; and community and spatial domains), with three chapters dedicated to analysing different dimensions of each exclusion domain. The book also examines the interrelationships between different forms of exclusion, and how outcomes and processes of different kinds of exclusion can be related to one another. In doing so, major cross-cutting themes, such as rights and identity, inclusive service infrastructures, and displacement of marginalised older adult groups, are considered. Finally, in a series of chapters written by international policy stakeholders and policy researchers, the book analyses key policies relevant to social exclusion and older people, including debates linked to sustainable development, EU policy and social rights, welfare and pensions systems, and planning and development. The book's approach helps to illuminate the comprehensive multidimensionality of social exclusion, and provides insight into the relative nature of disadvantage in later life. With 77 contributors working across 28 nations, the book presents a forward-looking research agenda for social exclusion amongst older people, and will be an important resource for students, researchers and policy stakeholders working on ageing.

This manual provides laboratory-based learning experiences in perceptually and psychosocially linked exercise assessment, prescription, and programming. The primary pedagogic outcome is the ability to use applied theory and practice in perceptual and psychosocial exercise assessment and program design to promote the adoption and maintenance of a physically active lifestyle, enhancing overall health fitness. Perceptual and psychosocial variables are presented in individual, stand-alone laboratory modules that can supplement existing curricula such as exercise and sport psychology, exercise physiology, exercise testing and prescription, and exercise training and conditioning. In addition, the complete modular set has a conceptual flow that allows its presentation as an entire, laboratory-based course. The laboratory modules are divided into three primary units: assessment (theoretical constructs, scales and procedures, tests), prescription (self-regulation, performance), and program evaluation. The manual uses a unique format in which case studies are embedded in the conceptual flow of each lab module facilitating translation of laboratory results to real-world application. The manual concludes with a discussion of perceptually and psychosocially linked exercise prescription and programming applications in public health, such as program monitoring and adherence.

Sport and Exercise Science can measure many aspects of human performance but the spiritual dimensions of sport experience are less easily quantifiable. The spiritual experience of sport - be it described as 'flow', 'transcendence' or simply deep personal satisfaction - is central both to achieving success and to our basic motivation to take part in sports.

Exploring these human aspects of the sport experience through the perspectives of sport psychology, philosophy, ethics and religious studies, this valuable and broad-ranging text includes:

• introduction to Spirituality in the postmodern era
• spirituality, health and wellbeing
• theistic and atheistic perspectives on sport and the spiritual
• nature and transcendence - the mystical and sublime in outdoor sport
• sport and the Existential - applied sport psychology
• suffering and Destiny - spiritual perspectives on pain and mental toughness
• sport and the Virtues - ethical and moral development in the spirit of the game
• the Olympics - de Coubertin's religion of athletics.

Written by leading authors in the field, this groundbreaking and provocative text is likely to inspire much debate, making it the excellent choice for students of sport studies, sports coaching, sport and health psychology. It is also essential reading for those interested in the preparation, performance and wellbeing of athletes.

Traumatic stress caused by violence, terror, natural disasters, political conflicts and poverty a partial list by far is a public health concern of alarming magnitude, affecting all. The long-term effects of exposure to these experiences, especially the concept of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), has been studied extensively and used internationally. The investigation of questions about the universality of PTSD and its applicability across cultural boundaries yielded fascinating work on the ethno-cultural aspects of PTSD as well as its presentation in specific cultural groups. However, a gap in knowledge still remains in regards to the potential differences and variations in the meaning and perception of trauma, the impact of extreme adversity, and its resolution and management. It all falls outside the construct of PTSD and from the point-of view-of other cultures. This edited book addresses theoretical and practical issues central to the field of traumatic stress from diverse cultural perspectives and provides a valuable resource for a broad audience of researchers and clinicians. The purpose of this book is to draw attention to issues concerning trauma and culture that are outside of the current accepted psychiatric conceptualizations, especially PTSD. The chapters included in this volume represent carefully selected examples of topics. Some elucidate the multi-faceted and dynamic resources that cultures bring forth to the perception of trauma, adjustment, coping, and recovery efforts, while others shed light on the essential contribution of cultural factors to the understanding of trauma, needs and treatment. Our hope is that these examples can be generalized and applied to all work on trauma.

Most North American colleges have programs that help students understand the harm done to victims of sexual violence and, if prosecuted, the potential consequences of their perpetrators. However, only a few programs also address those aspects of masculine culture that surround sexual assault. "Sexual Assault in Context" addresses the undesirable aspects of masculine culture that sustains the violation of women and girls. It examines several typically overlooked patterns of behavior that provide the basis for sexual assault and provides an overview of masculine psychological development as a context for sexual assault. The book also includes prevention strategies, information on funding and consultation issues, and additional resources for investigating further into male gender awareness and sexual assault.
The text's hands-on, practical approach, helps counseling professionals negotiate educational, organizational, and logistical issues in helping college men understand the gendered context of sexual assault and harassment. This resource is intended to help reduce the incidence of sexual assault on college campuses, as well as help men gain a greater understanding of: cultural gender pressures; relationship skills; their impact on others; and the considerable influence male peer cultures have on how women are treated.
"Sexual Assault in Context" provides an easy-to-read synopsis of male gender and sexual assault education strategies. It is intended as a resource for college counseling and/or violence prevention programs, and for those interested in understanding the psychological and social effects of the current culture of masculinity.

The Handbook of Clinical Health Psychology  is a comprehensive overview of the practice of clinical health psychology by internationally respected authors. Demonstrating how an awareness of psychological issues can make a difference to patients, families and carers, this Handbook  provides authoritative summaries of research evidence in health care, and demonstrates how they are put into practice. Further chapters place these in the context of the broader health care environment, and topics such as adherence, communication and the likely future of health care provision are discussed.

Detailed and integrated, this Handbook  will be the essential reference work for all clinical and health psychologists, whether in academic, practice or training settings. It will also be useful for a range of other professionals in health care, including social work, counselling, nursing and medicine.

CONTRIBUTORS

Beth Alder, UK
Gerhard Andersson, Sweden
David Mark Baguley, UK
Cynthia Belar, USA
Paul Bennett, UK
Suzanne Bennett Johnson, USA
Joyce A. Corsica, USA
Jane Duff, UK
Patricia E. Durning, USA
Timothy R. Elliott, USA
Janet E. Farmer, USA
Robert G. Frank, USA
Mary Gilhooly, UK
Robert L. Glueckauf, USA
Barbara Hedge, New Zealand
Adrian A. Kaptein, The Netherlands
Paul Kennedy, UK
Gerry Kent, UK
Timothy U. Ketterson, USA
Kristin M. Kilbourn, USA
Joshua C. Klapow, USA
Gary J. Latchford, UK
Wolfgang Linden, CANADA
Susan Llewelyn, UK
Jeffrey S. Loomis, USA
Eileen McDonach, UK
Laurence McKenna, UK
Susan Michie, UK
Elena S. Monarch, USA
Jeri Morris, USA
Dawn Newman Carlson, USA
David W. Nickelson, USA
Richard Glynn Owens, New Zealand
Michael G. Perri, USA
Treven C. Pickett, USA
Patricia Rivera, USA
James R. Rodrigue, USA
Margreet Scharloo, The Netherlands
Michael Sharpe, UK
Pauline Slade, UK
William B. Stiles, USA
Dennis C. Turk, USA
Michelle R. Widows, USA
Barbara Wren, UK

Learn how a patient's behavior can factor into the prognosis of medically unexplainable illness! The Psychopathology of Functional Somatic Syndromes examines the link between mental illness and physical syndromes that lack organic disease explanations, including chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, premenstrual dysphoria, irritable bowel, and Gulf War illness. The author has evaluated the best research work of the past 20 years to determine the association between psychopathology and functional illness, the biological gradient between somatic and psychological symptoms, and the manifestations of dysfunctional coping. The Psychopathology of Functional Somatic Syndromes challenges recent conceptualizations of functional somatic syndromes as brain disorders connected to affective spectrum disorder, serotonin deficiency, cerebral hypoperfusion or abnormal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function and highlights the importance of abnormal illness behavior, sexual victimization, and maladaptive coping for the production and maintenance of these disorders. The Psychopathology of Functional Somatic Syndromes explores observations on the neurobiology and the personality abnormalities of patients made from structured data collected over a period of several years. It describes modern perceptions of functional somatic syndromes and how they have evolved into a tightly knit family of self-standing syndromes with a common core. The book examines the correlation between the burden of psychopathology and the physical features of these illnesses; reviews advances made in the appraisal of the neuroanatomy, neuropsychology, and neurochemistry of functional syndromes; and focuses on the connection between measurable dimensions of personality, coping, and illness behavior and the prognosis of medically unexplainable illnesses. The Psychopathology of Functional Somatic Syndromes examines: psychiatric morbidity brain perfusion post-traumatic stress in Gulf War illness the spectrum of mood disorders the hypothalamatic-pituitary-adrenal axis the sexual victimization of patients and much more! The Psychopathology of Functional Somatic Syndromes is an essential resource for psychiatrists and psychologists working in outpatient practice.

Experiences of health and illness are fundamental to how we understand ourselves, and the postmodern obsession with body image has made health even more significant in identity formation. The study of subjective experiences of health and illness can also provide a challenge to traditional objective medical knowledge and, given current healthcare interest in user involvement, can highlight the need for change in health service provision.
This book explores the interplay between identity and health, private and public, mind and body. Drawing on new material, and using and exploring innovative biographical and narrative methods, it covers a broad range of identities in relation to health and illness, including race, religion, ethnicity, disability, age, body image, sexuality and gender.
Identity and Health will be of great interest to academics, researchers and students of sociology, medical anthropology, health and psychology.

The authors are to be commended for producing a single volume which draws together cutting edge research on the psychology of emotional expression and health -o Dr. Alan Carr, University College Dublin, Ireland This book is a gem...it is an outstanding work with a focus on an ever-expanding field of research and practice -o Michael Boulton, Keele University Emotional Expression and Health covers the major themes that are important for gaining insight into the role of emotional expression and inhibition may play in staying healthy or falling ill. Written by leading experts in the field, chapters rely on thorough theory building and empirical research. They focus on how we can measure emotional expression or inhibition and how we can distinguish between their various facets, as well as the role of attachment and the development of emotional information processing. Additional topics include Alexithymia, emotional suppression, deception, emotional disclosure, defensiveness, repression, psychological mindedness, emotional intelligence and self-efficacy. This unique approach will be of interest to all those in the fields of health and medical psychology and psychiatry, and behavioral medicine, as well as professionals working with patients in which diseases, emotional expression or inhibition may play a role in its etiology, course or prognosis.

Experiences of health and illness are fundamental to how we understand ourselves, and the postmodern obsession with body image has made health even more significant in identity formation. The study of subjective experiences of health and illness can also provide a challenge to traditional objective medical knowledge and, given current healthcare interest in user involvement, can highlight the need for change in health service provision.
This book explores the interplay between identity and health, private and public, mind and body. Drawing on new material, and using and exploring innovative biographical and narrative methods, it covers a broad range of identities in relation to health and illness, including race, religion, ethnicity, disability, age, body image, sexuality and gender.
Identity and Health will be of great interest to academics, researchers and students of sociology, medical anthropology, health and psychology.