Minority Populations and Health or Beyond the Fields

Minority Populations and Health: An Introduction to Health Disparities in the United States

Author: Thomas A LaVeist

"The text is state-of-the-art in its analysis of health disparities from both domestic and international perspectives. Minority Populations and Health: An Introduction to Health Disparities in the United States is a welcome addition to the field because it widens access to the complex issues underlying the health disparities problem. "-- Preventing Chronic Disease/CDC, October 2005

"This is a very comprehensive, evidence-based book dealing with the health disparities that plague the United States. This is a welcome and valuable addition to the field of health care for minority groups in the United States."-- Doody's Publishers Bulletin, August 2005

"Health isn’t color-blind. Racial minorities disproportionately suffer from some diseases, but experts say race alone doesn’t completely account for the disparities. Newsweek's Jennifer Barrett Ozols spoke with Thomas LaVeist, director of the Center for Health Disparities Solutions at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and author of the upcoming book, "Minority Populations and Health: An Introduction to Health Disparities in the U.S." (Jossey-Bass) about race and medicine. "-- MSNBC/Newsweek interview with author Thomas L. LaVeist, February 2005

"The book is readable and organized to be quickly read with specifics readily retrievable. It is comprehensive and visual."-- Journal of the American Medical Association, September 2005

Minority Populations and Health is a textbook that offers a complete foundation in the core issues and theoretical frameworks for the development of policy and interventions to address race disparities in health-related outcomes. This bookcovers U.S. health and social policy, the role of race and ethnicity in health research, social factors contributing to mortality, longevity and life expectancy, quantitative and demographic analysis and access, and utilization of health services. Instructors material available at

Doody Review Services

Reviewer: Penny Wolfe Moore, RNC, PhD (Southwestern Adventist University)
Description: This book focuses on the health disparities of minority populations in the United States, using many tables and charts (no color) that illustrate main points very well.
Purpose: The author had taught courses on health inequality for several years but could not find a comprehensive book, so he wrote this especially to meet that classroom need. He meets his objective, and the book is also useful for community health planners and educators.
Audience: It was written with undergraduate and graduate students in mind but a wider audience exists. Community health educators and community developers will find this book very useful. Anyone working on the Healthy People 2010 objectives will need this as a reference.
Features: This book offers a comprehensive discussion of the many factors leading to health disparities related to racial/ethnic issues. The healthcare needs of minority groups are explored with many strategies presented. Theory is linked to research and implications for action are included. Many charts and tables are included that summarize material and give more meaning to research findings.
Assessment: This is a very comprehensive, evidence-based book dealing with the health disparities that plague the United States. The problems are identified and then followed by strategies for action. This is a welcome and valuable addition to the field of healthcare for minority groups in the United States.

Rating

4 Stars! from Doody

Table of Contents:

1	Historical aspects of race/ethnicity and health	1
2	Conceptual issues in race/ethnicity and health	15
3	The demography of American racial/ethnic minorities	30
4	The epidemiological profile of racial/ethnic minorities	53
5	Mental health	83
6	Health care services among racial/ethnic groups	108
7	Theories of racial/ethnic differences in health	133
8	Socioeconomic status and racial/ethnic differences in health	157
9	Behavior and health	180
10	African American health issues	205
11	American Indian and Alaska Native health issues	223
12	Asian and Pacific Islander health issues	242
13	Hispanic/Latino health issues	260
14	Addressing disparities in health and health care	283

Book about: Story of Wine or The Get With The Program Guide to Fast Food and Family Restaurants

Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century

Author: Randy Shaw

Cesar Chavez is the most prominent Latino in United States history books, and much has been written about Chavez and the United Farm Worker's heyday in the 1960s and '70s. But left untold has been their ongoing impact on 21st century social justice movements. Beyond the Fields unearths this legacy, and describes how Chavez and the UFW's imprint can be found in the modern reshaping of the American labor movement, the building of Latino political power, the transformation of Los Angeles and California politics, the fight for environmental justice, and the burgeoning national movement for immigrant rights. Many of the ideas, tactics, and strategies that Chavez and the UFW initiated or revived--including the boycott, the fast, clergy-labor partnerships and door-to-door voter outreach--are now so commonplace that their roots in the farmworkers' movement is forgotten.

This powerful book also describes how the UFW became the era's leading incubator of young activist talent, creating a generation of skilled alumni who went on to play critical roles in progressive campaigns. UFW volunteers and staff were dedicated to furthering economic justice, and many devoted their post-UFW lives working for social change. When Barack Obama adopted "Yes We Can" as his 2008 campaign theme, he confirmed that the spirit of "Si Se Puede" has never been stronger, and that it still provides the clearest roadmap for achieving greater social and economic justice in the United States.

Publishers Weekly

Bay Area community organizer Shaw (Reclaiming America) examines the enduring influence of the United Farm Workers' model of grassroots organization, which he pointedly credits with the majority of labor's successes since the 1960s and a wellspring of 21st-century movements for democratic rights. He retells the story of Cesar Chavez and the UFW's unprecedented success in mobilizing a broad coalition as well as winning political clout and material gains for workers through such tactics as boycotts, appeals to spiritual values, fasting and community-centered organizing. Shaw describes a generation of young activists passing through the UFW's crucible of idealism, sacrifice and individual initiative, and into a lifetime of service to social justice causes; indeed, it was the very success of the UFW's campaigns that contributed, ironically, to a gradual power drain on the union in the 1980s. Leading organizers and political strategists like Susan Sachen and Marshall Ganz went on to work for other unions like SEIU or were hired away by mainstream electoral campaigns. Finally, Shaw evaluates the capacities of today's labor movement to build on the UFW's legacy of self-directed, on-the-ground training, political solidarity and far-reaching social idealism. (Jan.)

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