This book explores the macro and micro social contexts in which alternative and bio-medicine co-exist in Israel. It includes a history of alternative health care in Israel and analysis of current policies and dilemmas regarding different forms of health care. It provides an in-depth analysis of medical professionals who have added alternative health care to their repertoire of professional skills in their practice settings in hospitals and community clinics. The heterogeneity of patient populations in Israel makes it possible to explore attitudes of different cultural groups toward alternative health care: these include Jewish immigrants from different countries as well as Bedouin and other Arab groups. Since alternative medicine is a growing part of the overall health care system in many countries, the book provides insights gained from the Israeli experience regarding its coexistence along with conventional medicine-to a broad spectrum of health professionals, policy makers and laypersons.

The universality of health concerns and the complexity of dealing with them makes it increasingly important for professionals in sociology, health care, and policy making to become acquainted with the wide variety of strategies used in different social contexts. Although Israel is in some ways unique in its social problems and its approach to health care, many of its problems resemble those of other societies, and many of its solutions can be applied in other countries. Social Dimensions of Health looks at distinctive aspects of the Israeli health care system, while at the same time drawing comparisons with other societies.

Judith Shuval discusses the health and health behavior of a variety of groups in Israeli society that have not been systematically considered in other analyses: women, the elderly, alternative health care providers, immigrants, and Israeli Arabs. Shuval analyzes the critical influence of ultraorthodox parties on health policy in the context of a tenuously balanced coalition government, and shows how the pervasive conflict between Israel and the Arab world penetrates all aspects of social life, including health. Inequality in health is discussed with special reference to Israeli Arabs. The study concludes with a discussion of what can be learned from the Israeli experience, and how it can best be applied in other social contexts. Social Dimensions of Health will prove useful to scholars, health practitioners, and lay people seeking a broad understanding of the social factors underlying health and health care.

Shuval and Bernstein examine the occupational integration of immigrant physicians from the former Soviet Union to Israel, Canada, and the United States. An analysis of general immigration policy and the licensing and employment of immigrant physicians in each of the host countries provides the background for a comparative analysis of the migration experience as expressed in life-history narratives. The findings provide sociological insights, hypotheses, and generalizations that are meaningful beyond these settings. This is an important research tool for scholars and students in medical sociology, immigration studies, and Eastern European studies. Shuval and Bernstein examine the occupational integration of immigrant physicians from the former Soviet Union to Israel, Canada, and the United States. It is this combination of the commonality and uniqueness of the contexts studied that makes possible a comparative analysis that sheds light on the dynamic structuring of professions in contemporary industrialized societies. Shuval, Bernstein and their contributors first focus on the common motives, values, and problems of immigrants in post-industrial societies. After examining the historical and structural background of their medical training and practice, they look at the reasons for emigrating and the immigration policy and licensing approaches in each of the three host countries. Throughout, life-history narratives personalize the experience. They conclude by drawing together the findings in the three settings. An important research tool for scholars and students in medical sociology, immigration studies, and Eastern European studies.

This first large-scale empirical work on the adjustment problems of immigrants in Israel is now updated with a new introduction by the author and a preface by Alex Weingrod. The extraordinary phenomenon of worldwide immigration to Israel has made this searching study of people in transit possible. "Immigrants on the Threshold" reports on the attitudes and behaviors of almost 2,000 people from twenty countries during their first year in Israel during the early years of mass migration. It is of particular interest as the phenomenon of integration becomes an issue for concern in many other parts of the world. "Immigrants on the Threshold" by Judith Shuval presents a theoretical framework closely intermeshed with rich empirical findings. No other work in this field approaches this study in either depth of theoretical analysis or in design and execution of data collection performed by conducting in-depth interviews and then using statistical analysis to quantify results in exacting and objective detail. It attempts to answer a number of critical questions: What factors in the immigrants' past and present condition their responses to the strain of transit? What is the role of commitment to the goal of the new society into which they must incorporate? What is the role of different social and economic backgrounds in determining patterns of acculturation? What factors affect the aspirations and mobility patterns of immigrants? The answers to these questions - the hypotheses formulated and the conclusions reached in "Immigrants on the Threshold" - contribute substantially to the fields of both sociology and social psychology. These answers, and the methods used to reach them, should be of interest to anyone in these fields and the field of applied social research, as well as those interested in Israel and questions of immigrant integration.