The needs of cancer patients are covered in the third part, which considers the role that alternative therapies and behavioural approaches can play in extending survival time and enhancing the quality of life. The fourth part, on chronic pain, points to the need for a combined involvement of social, psychological and medical knowledge in the management of chronic pain. Other chapters relate experiences in changing public health policies, in creating supportive environments, in strengthening community action, and in developing the personal coping skills of the chronically ill and disabled. Information ranges from advice on how self-help groups can gain media support, through a discussion of the reasons why the chronically ill seek alternative therapies, through descriptions of experiences with a variety of new therapies for helping heart patients, cancer patients, families with a handicapped child, and persons suffering from chronic pain, migraine and rheumatism. The remaining chapters, concerned with the need to reorient health services, consider the specific changes that need to be made in training, health research and health care.
Social factors affect health.
Social epidemiologists have shown not only the harmful effects of stress and the helpful ones of social support but also the importance of the wider physical and social environment. This raises two questions for health promotion research. This book gives some of the most recent, relevant and reliable answers to both. A major part of the programme of WHO's European Regional Office is directed towards lifestyles conducive to health and the development of a healthy environment. Given the broadness of the issue of health promotion and its potential for conflict, it is important to continue discussing and analysing its philosophical base.