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Fam Community Health Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 6875 c 2006 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.

Media Reviews
The Radiation Sonnets: For My Love in Sickness and in Health by Jane Yolen. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books; 2003. 104 pages, hardback, $14.95. One poem alone at bedtime completes my night (Day 32) are the words of Jane Yolen, a renowned childrens book author and poet who wrote The Radiation Sonnets: For My Love in Sickness and in Health as a daily diary to vent her feelings and help her cope with her husbands radiation treatments for an inoperable cancerous skull tumor. The dailywritten sonnets coincided with the 43 days of radiation treatments. Originally, the poems were not written nor intended for an audience or publication, but were eventually printed with her husbands permission in response to requests from her writers group and from listeners who heard them read on National Public Radio. The book is 5 7 inches, easily carried and read. Although I read the book completely, in 1 sitting, each time I read it; the book takes much longer to digest. There is an introduction, The Beginning, and a concluding section, An After, which gives the book a context. There are neither pictures nor page numbers, just a daily chronicling of the authors feelings and emotions, which run the gamut from cautiously optimistic, uplifting and celebratory to despair, anger, frustration and resignation. The readers heart aches while sensing the writers pain. Although the author does not say anything new, she says it so well. The various sonnets contents revolve around the titles topics. There are sonnets about skull mapping, hair, the waiting room, holidays, expectations, and escaping. There are some sonnets that relate to no68 table times such as A Bad Day (Day 28): One bad day in ten, I cant complain Though its a misery to see you low; An Additional Week of Radiation (Day 27), One More Week (Day 33), and the last day, which is referred to as Graduation Day. The recurring theme of the Food Wars deal with the authors attempt to feed her husband and his reluctance or inability to eat: Today you did not want to eat. We knew this day would come. On Day 18, the author writes about relinquishing some control in Letting Go: A friend drove you today, I did not go. An ache remains, a pinprick in my breast. Reminding me just what I ought to know: The caretaker, as well, still needs her rest. ... ... ... Then help me love, to sigh and let you go If terror, time, and tumor make it so. My favorite is the ode to candies, Sucking Candies (Day 8),that helped give the authors husband some relief. The Radiation Sonnets: For My Love in Sickness and in Health is useful to anyone who has experienced personally, or through a family member or friend undergoing radiation treatments, as they can easily relate to many of the subjects raised in the books 14 line poems. In addition, those who work with and treat individuals in radiation therapy would benefit from reading the book so that they could recommend it to others. Lenore B. Weinstein, MA, RN Adjunct Associate Professor Marquette University School of Dentistry Milwaukee, Wis

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Media Reviews Get Your Act Together, Think Healthy, Be Healthy by Frank G. Addleman. Bloomington, IN: 1st Books Library; 2004. 234 pages, paperback, $14.50. In a society burdened with heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity, Frank Addleman reveals the power of proper nutrition and exercise for the prevention of such illnesses. Taking his audience on a motivational journey, Addleman promotes increased knowledge, confidence, and inspiration toward achieving health and fitness. The author shatters myths and misconceptions that people have about the power they have to control the future of their health. Responsibility lies within the individual. Addleman claims, Take responsibility for your health, take charge of your health, and push mortality to the end. This book is organized into 75 short chapters that provide simple discussions, most often in lay terms, about nutrition and exercise basics. Included are not only chapters filled with facts and statistics related to nutrition, exercise, health, and disease, but several chapters include stories intended to motivate the reader to make appropriate lifestyle changes conducive to better health. Addleman outlines 14 recommendations specific to dietary intake (listed as chapter titles): Eat a Plant-Based Diet, Take Natures Medicine (fruits and vegetables), Ten Plant Foods to Consider, Include Whole Grains, Include More Legumes, Add Fish to Your Diet, Add Soy to Your Diet, Add Flaxseed to Your Diet, Balance the Fats in Your Diet, The Essential Fats, Supportive Supplements,Oxygenate Your Body,Consume Less Red Meat,Move Away from Whole-Milk Dairy Products, Eat Fewer Salty Foods, and Avoid Highly Sweetened Processed Foods. In addition, explanations of simple concepts of exercise are given such as the benefits of strength training, interval training, the relationship between muscle loss and decreased metabolism, oxygen consumption/efficiency

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and clues on how to determine ones appropriate exercise intensity. This book uses an informal approach and resembles a self-help manual. It offers accurate, up-to-date information about the benefits of healthier eating habits and exercise. Addleman provides concise information on which foods to incorporate and eliminate from ones diet. Final chapters summarize the information, presenting it as an illustration about which dietary behaviors to adopt and suggestions on how to make those changes possible. Addleman concludes his work with several suggested readings on nutrition and exercise. For anyone interested in traveling a path toward health and wellness, this book is an accurate and appropriate reference in that it offers simple recommendations for how to change lifestyle and dietary behaviors. Addleman emphasizes that people have the power to determine the destiny of their health, when diet and exercise are the determining factors. This well-developed book, containing pertinent information, is a valuable resource for the novice interested in preventive health maintenance and improvement. Readers will find this book empowering, motivating, and offering no hypes or fad solutions, just the facts. Marcy L. Dossenback, BSN, RN Registered Nurse, Graduate Student Department of Nutritional Sciences University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio Cynthia M. Goody, PhD, RD, LD Assistant Professor Department of Nutritional Sciences University of Cincinnati Medical Center Cincinnati, Ohio International Public Health: Diseases, Programs, Systems, and Policies by Michael H. Merson, Robert E. Black, and

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FAMILY & COMMUNITY HEALTH/JANUARYMARCH 2006 second is the comprehensive list of sources placed appropriately at the end of the last chapter. I find the index to be very comprehensive, orderly, appropriate and easy to navigate. EVALUATION Chapter 1 sets the tone for the book by reviewing tools for measuring the health status and disease burden of a population. This is significant because an accurate measure on a global level can allow for comparisons among the various countries. The subsequent chapters provide the reader with information related to specific countries and, in some cases, identify prevention and intervention strategies having the greatest effect on the population. The authors use the anthropological, sociological, and psychological theories to address the cultural perspectives of the various groups as they suggest various strategies for effecting change. The content is accurate and in most cases complete. There is no uniform style for all chapters, but this can be attributed to the various disciplines involved. Some topics are not addressed as completely as others, which could be because of limited information available on the subject. One strength of the book is the attempt of the authors to try to connect the various aspects of public health and show the global/international connection among the various issues. A regrettable weakness is the vast number of old references pertaining to major topics like nutrition. SUMMARY I think that this book attempts to provide an international perspective on the major public health issues common to many countries. Health risks, practices, and behaviors are global in nature. This book focuses on the need to provide effective solutions

Anne J. Mills. Gaithersburg, Md: Aspen Publishers, Inc; 2001. 775 pages, $52.95. Merson, Black, and Mills have come up with an extremely useful book that provides the reader with a global perspective about the public health problems and challenges facing various developing countries (low- and middle-income countries). This text is written for both teachers and students involved in the education, practice, administration, and research in international public health. DESCRIPTION This edited book with 31 authors is designed to take the reader through 14 chapters addressing a wide range of topics and issues from an international perspective. The editors justify this collaborative endeavor of using a variety of authors by the many dynamic areas and subjects they have covered. This group of economists, molecular biologists, public health officials, sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists and epidemiologists enrich the presentation of the discussions of international public health. The authors begin with a very clear definition of international public health and establish the connection between the biological sciences (human microorganisms and vectors), the quantitative sciences of epidemiology and biostatistics, and the social and behavioral sciences (psychology, sociology, and anthropology). The chapters vary in style and format but the authors provide thoughtful, provocative questions following each chapter discussing various topics. These questions are very useful in that they further challenge the thinking of the reader. The subtopics flow from the main topics and are appropriate to the format. The tables and figures complement the narrative and are appropriate to the topics being discussed. Two unique features are noteworthy. The first is the list of acronyms and the

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Media Reviews taking into consideration the culture, health beliefs, and behaviors of a cultural group. While there are common themes that flow through each chapter, the authors skillfully customize some of the findings for the specific countries. Because borders are shrinking globally, and people have become very mobile, moving across continents, it surely makes sense to look internationally for the etiology and epidemiology of diseases so that interventions appropriate to a cultural group can be introduced. To conclude, this book is an important and timely contribution in the field of international public health. Cynthia Johnson, MSN, EdD, RN Associate Professor California State University, Dominguez Hills Carson, Calif ol Para ProfesionPaso a Paso: Espan ales De Salud/Step by Step: Spanish for Health Professionals by D. E. Bender, S. Gutter, and I. Stern. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press; 2002. 104 pages, paperback (includes CD), $18.95. Language differences may be one of the strongest factors influencing the racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare services and outcomes in the United States. Linguistically diverse people with limited English proficiency typically experience inadequate access to care, lower quality of care, and poorer health status. Today more than 1 in 10 people in the United States speak Spanish.1 As of July 2003, an estimated 40 million Latinos live in the United States (13.7% of the nations total population), making people of Spanish origin the nations largest ethnic minority group.1 In many parts of the country, most healthcare providers, who only speak English, often work with clients who only speak Spanish.

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Practitioners who cannot communicate, to some extent in another language, may not be able to fulfill their clients needs. For novice Spanish speakers who want to quickly increase their communication skills and healthrelated vocabulary, the Paso a Paso/Step by Step handbook and accompanying CD is an effective resource for group learning. This book is organized using specific pasos, steps, each designed to be a chapter, with a total of 6 chapters. With this in mind, the authors state that learners could work through the material in 6 weeks. The chapter topics, like a visit with the healthcare professional, focus on welcome/reception and information, financial counseling and paying for health services, clinical interview, pregnancy and delivery, ambulatory surgery, and infectious diseases. Each chapter contains 7 activities dedicated to increased Spanish learning and practice. The activities include work before the group meets that takes the form of listening, conversations to start the groups meeting, more practice to build on the conversation, new words and expressions, learning for the next week, activities for fun that reinforce what was learned during the group meeting, and, in the community events, encourages learners to participate in Latino activities. For those who want to increase their Spanish vocabulary beyond what was introduced in the 7 activities, an eighth activity, vocabulary expansion, is also included. The accompanying CD includes healthcare-related dialogues that typically occur in administrative and clinical settings. Each dialogue requires a greeting and a few simple sentences to contextualize the conversation. This book emphasizes communicative language learning, a speaking and learning process, rather than grammar and language structure lessons. Recognizing that learners may need English assistance at first, the authors structure each section of pasos using a bilingual approach, introducing Spanish followed by English and then, transition to a

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FAMILY & COMMUNITY HEALTH/JANUARYMARCH 2006 gins with an initial overview of critical issues in health program development and evaluation today, and proceeds through the logistics of assessment, theory selection, goal setting, and program implementation, and ends with several detailed chapters on evaluation strategies, analysis, reporting, and use. Each chapter contains helpful charts, tables, and diagrams that show the relationships between concepts and examples of topics and ideas presented in the text. The books subtitle, A Practical, Systematic Approach to Community Health,is truethe book is readable without overly simplifying complex ideas, and well laid out with citations at the end of each chapter allowing easy reference and follow-up. The author approaches the topic of program planning from a broad public health perspective and uses the 4 levels of the public health pyramid as a unifying theme in each chapter. Each chapter discusses the implications and special issues for the 4 levels of the pyramid: its base of infrastructure services, the third level of population-based services, the second of enabling services, and the top, of direct healthcare services. The books material is presented in an easily readable style and the content is accurate, upto-date, and appropriate for both graduate introductory and advanced application courses. The presentation of complex ideas such as sample size, cultural competency, and differences between intervention, impact, and outcome theory, are clearly presented. The many diagrams and tables might easily be used as templates in funding applications or class presentations. The book fills a gap in practice resources by bringing together the many necessary components for program planning and evaluation. Its reasonable price allows it to be used as a supplemental text to courses with specific content for individual professions such as nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, or medicine. I have already found myself using content from the book in my health promotion course

Spanish-focused approach. This methodology helps learners quickly advance by encouraging them to think and speak Spanish rather than relying on English translations. For healthcare professionals seeking to advance their Spanish speaking and listening skills, this well-developed and organized text is an excellent resource to consult. Overall, the authors, Deborah Bender, Suzanne Gutter, and Irwin Stern, have assembled a concise and relevant handbook that represents the critical components of any Spanish conversation in a healthcare setting. Practitioners will find this work to be a convenient and comprehensive reference that would be difficult to find in a single publication. REFERENCE
1. US Census Bureau. Facts for featuresHispanic Heritage Month 2004: Sept. 15Oct. 15. Available at: http://www.census.gov. Accessed August 30, 2004.

Cynthia M. Goody, PhD, RD, LD Assistant Professor Department of Nutritional Sciences University of Cincinnati Medical Center Cincinnati, Ohio Health Program Planning and Evaluation: A Practical, Systematic Approach for Community Health by L. Michele Issel. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett; 2004. 497 pages, paperback, $33.97. It is a pleasure to volunteer as a reviewer and find the assigned book to be exactly the one for which you have been searching! Intended for graduate students and administrators learning program planning and evaluation on the job (an all too familiar approach for many health professionals), Health Program Planning and Evaluation provides an organized, practical approach to the field for both planners and clinicians. The author be-

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Media Reviews and in writing a foundation grant for a new program. Patricia J. Kelly, PhD, MPH, RN, FNP Associate Professor Schools of Nursing/Medicine University of MissouriKansas City The Little Book of Stress Relief by David Posen. Buffalo, NY: Firefly books; 2004. 208 pages, paperback, $12.95. This is an interesting book, and the route the author took to writing it is also interesting. David Posen is a family physician who first got hooked on stress in 1981 when he attended a seminar in Montreal, Canada, on heart disease. The seminar had 3 lectures on stress management, and he immediately saw how this topic related both to his patients and to him. Dr Posen gave up his medical practice in 1985 to spend his time dealing with stress management, lifestyle counseling, and psychotherapy. This book is organized into 52 short sections1 for each week of the year. Each chapter begins with a story or analogy and ends with prescriptions that are specific, simple, and concrete things the reader can do. He says that his goal is to provide a guide to enable readers to make gradual changes to reduce their stress and improve their health. The first few chapters talk about stress: what it is, how it manifests itself, and what its causes are. The examples he uses are simple and ones with which readers can identify. He contends that we create most of our own stress. Specifically, he says each of us has a little voice inside us that speaks to usnot hearingvoicesbut our self-talk.We react to things around us depending on our self-talk. At the end of each chapter, he gives a prescription. Examples for looking at internal sources of stress are 1. Start to notice each upset or stress reaction this week. Tune in to your inner voice.

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2. Review the list and see if there is a pattern. 3. Get feedback from family and close friends. For the person who has done a lot of reading about stress, the book is a primer. For new readers on this subject, the book will have much information to offer. Even for those of us who have studied stress, its consequences, and how to more effectively handle it, the book is a helpful refresher. The stories and examples he uses are drawn from real-life experienceshis or his patients, or friends and associates. The chapters on setting boundaries and limits or enough is enough illustrate how the book is organized. He gives 3 work-related examples from friends and patients. He then lists the parameters he uses to structure his life to manage stress and then he concludes with his prescription. For those of us who have demanding jobs, several of the chapters will be especially useful. Specifically, he outlines ways to say no, putting your work in perspective, leaving work at work, reclaiming ownership of your time, and dealing with clutter, to name a few. Essentially, the messages I took away are that each of us has choices about if and how we handle stress. If we are serious about balancing work and rest and relaxation, then a variety of steps can be taken such as reducing caffeine, exercising regularly, setting limits on our work and other time-encroaching activities, and taking time for leisure. This interesting, easy to read, and useful book can make a great gift to a friend or colleague who leads a hectic and demanding life and who wants to get control.

Jeanette Lancaster, PhD, RN, FAAN Editor Family & Community Health University of Virginia School of Nursing Charlottesville, Va

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FAMILY & COMMUNITY HEALTH/JANUARYMARCH 2006 islative changes have not been addressed and so the value of such readings are limited by their relevancy and timeliness, yet useful in a historical study of US health policy. The authors of the articles in this book include many familiar and important writers and thinkers in health policy, so that a wealth of facts and analyses of critical issues is offered, and may also overwhelm the beginning student of healthcare. While most of the articles are a relatively brief 5 to 6 pages, the more theoretical sections, such as those on the study of health policy, are lengthier and somewhat dense, making this book a more reasonable choice for a health system overview course than a health policy course. There is clearly more material in this text than can be reasonably incorporated in a semesters study, yet I found myself interested and inclined to refer to the book as a useful source of material about the trends in public health and healthcare over the twentieth century. Articles such as the one on broadening participation in community problem solving will be useful for clinicians and scholars attempting to incorporate a new way of thinking and acting in the development of collaborative practice. Other articles, such as SCHIP Turns 5, fail to include all the relevant material and so would serve as a snapshot of a program rather than a full accounting. Perhaps the intention of the authors was so broad in preparing this edition that readers would do well to browse and pick and choose, rather than to sit at this text and consume it in its entirety, expecting the appetite for health policy to be satisfied. Thus, as an educator I would use this book as a resource for my lectures rather than as a text to assign in the graduate policy course I teach. Bonnie Jerome-DEmilia, PhD, MPH, RN Assistant Professor of Nursing University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA

The Nations Health by Philip R. Lee and Carroll L. Estes. Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett Publishers; 2003. 606 pages, paperback, $56.95. In this seventh edition, a compendium of articles has been collected to address the broad and rapidly changing health policy landscape in the United States. The purpose of this book is to present a range of views about the current state of healthcare, with a particular emphasis on population health, and prospects for the future of the US healthcare system. Nurses as well as students of public health are the intended audience for this book. The book is divided into 7 parts, each composed of 1 to 2 chapters. Topics of the 7 parts include The Health of the Nations and Determinants of Health, Health Policy and the Politics of Health, Identifying, Understanding, and Addressing Population Health Problems, Preparing for Terrorism: A Public Health Response,Health Care, Health Care Organization, Health Care Financing, and Quality of Care, Womens Health and the Health Care System, and Aging and Long-Term Care. The chapters vary from theoretical analysis of policy in The Study of Public Policy Processes to the very practical Drug Coverage for Medicare Beneficiaries. There is a very limited role for tables and figures, most of the chapters being straight text. This book does intend to address a broad spectrum of topics, and the variety of chapters reflects that intention. The inclusion in this edition of the section on bioterrorism reflects the desire to present up-to-date and relevant public health issues, and also demonstrates the difficulty for printed media of striding the cutting edge of such a dynamic subject as health policy. Material presented in these articles is accurate and complete as far as the data, from the time these articles were written, will allow. As demonstrated in the chapter on Medicare drug coverage, last years leg-

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Wanted: Book Reviewers

Family & Community Health is in search of book reviewers. If you would like to become an FCH reviewer, please contact: Jeanette Lancaster, PhD, RN, FAAN, Editor, Family & Community Health, Dean and Professor, School of Nursing, University of Virginia, McLeod Hall, P.O. Box 800782, 202 15th St, SW (22903), Charlottesville, VA 22908, Tel. 434-924-0063, e-mail: Lancaster@virginia.edu. The following books have been received by the editor and are currently awaiting review: 108 Days, by Lisa Lindell Beasts of the Earth: Animals, Humans, and Disease, by E. Fuller Torrey, MD, and Robert H. Yolken, MD Bipolar Disorder for Dummies: A Reference for the Rest of Us, by Candida Fink, MD, and Joe Kraynak Complementary Medicine in Clinical Practice, by David P. Rakel, MD, and Nancy Faass, MSW, MPH The Death of a Disease: A History of the Eradication of Poliomyelitis, by Bernard Seytre and Mary Shaffer Drive Like a Champ: A Safe Start to Driving Smart, by Allen S. Hardin Get a Healthy Weight for Your Child: A Parents Guide to Better Eating and Exercise, by Dr Brian W. McCrindle Healing Research, Volume II, How Can I Heal What Hurts? Wholistic Healing and Bioenergies, by Daniel J. Benor, MD and Consciousness Bioenergy and Healing: Self-Healing and Energy Medicine for the 21st Century, by Daniel J. Benor, MD Health Politics: Power, Populism and Health, by Mike Magee, MD Help for Eating Disorders: A Parents Guide to Symptoms, Causes & Treatments, by Dr Debra K. Katzman, MD, FRCP(C), and Dr Leora Pinhas, MD, FRCP(C) Holistic Nursing: A Handbook for Practice (4th ed.), by Barbara Montgomery Dossey, Lynn Keegan, and Cathie E. Guzzeta Making Adult Stepfamilies Work: Strategies for the Whole Family When a Parent Marries Later in Life by Grace Gabe, MD, and Jean Lipman-Blumen, PhD The New Glucose Revolution: The Authoritative Guide to The Glycemic IndexThe Dietary Solution for Lifelong Health, by Jennie Brand-Miller, PhD, Thomas M. S. Wolever, MD, PhD, Kaye Foster-Powell, M. Nutr. & Diet. and Stephen Colagiuri, MD A Womans Concise Guide to Common Medical Tests, by Michele C. Moore, MD, and Caroline M. De Costa, MD