The Behavioral Sciences and Health Care
Rewied in Doody's Listing and Reviews of your books,by Marie A Dewitt, MD(Rush University Medical Center)**Description**This compact book, organized according to Institute of Medicine themes,discusses the importance of integrating the behavioral, social, and biological sciences in approaching health and pathology. This is an update to the originaltext that was published in 2003.**Purpose**The second edition successfully presents information about the various social, biological, and psychological approaches that comprise the behavioral sciences and are essential to a complete understanding of health, wellness, and illness.This edition includes updated material and additional chapters on stress and adaptation, aging, palliative care, risk behaviors, clinical education, health literacy, and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender healthcare issues.**Audience**Written by qualified members of the Association for the Behavioral Sciences and Medical Education, this is intended as a text for medical and other students and trainees. It would best serve graduate or professional students in medical,public health, social work, and other health sciences disciplines. It is essential for training programs that seek to teach the multifaceted aspects of healthcare. Individual chapters or sections may also be appropriate for morespecific classes (e.g., undergraduate courses in gerontology) or populations (e.g., medical residents).**Features**The book is exceptionally well organized into thematically based sections with questions listed at the beginning of each chapter, clearly defined subsections within chapters, and recommended readings and questions with answers at theconclusion of each chapter. Appendixes provide a more in-depth discussion of basic epidemiology and biostatistics. A comprehensive index follows a USMLE-style practice test with answers. The topic matter covered is notablydiverse. Future editions might be enhanced by including discussions on disabilities as well as occupational and organizational health.**Assessment**This updated and enriched edition is an indispensable contribution to understanding an approach to healthcare that appears simple but in actuality is frequently more complex than appreciated. The organization allows for easy use in the teaching setting and would be most beneficial in this context.-----------------------------------------------------------Weighted Numerical Score: 96 - 4 Stars!Review comments on the first edition:  "Takes attempts to integrate basic and behavioral sciences to a new level...Enables students to see the importance of all aspects of a patient's life and their influence on healthcare behaviors...Material is presented in a logical and concise manner that will appeal to medical students." (Patricia Lenehan in Annals of Behavioral Science and Medical Education)