Health Issues in the Black Community / Edition 3

by Ronald L. Braithwaite, Sandra E. Taylor, Henrie M. Treadwell

Overview

Health Issues in the Black Community THIRD EDITION

"The outstanding editors and authors of Health Issues in the Black Community have placed in clear perspective the challenges and opportunities we face in working to achieve the goal of health equity in America."
—David Satcher, MD, PhD, 16th Surgeon General of the United States and director, Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine

"Eliminating health disparities must be a central goal of any forward thinking national health policy. Health Issues in the Black Community makes a valuable contribution to a much-needed dialogue by focusing on the challenges of the black community."
—Marc Morial, Esq., president, National Urban League

"Health Issues in the Black Community illuminates comprehensively the range of health conditions specifically affecting African Americans, and the health disparities both within the black community and between racial and ethnic groups. Each chapter, whether addressing the health of African Americans by age, gender, type of disease, condition or behavior, is well-detailed and tells an important story. Together, they offer practitioners, consumers, scholars, and policymakers a crucial roadmap to address and change the social determinants of health, reduce disparities, and create more equal treatment for all Americans."
—Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA, president, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

"I recommend Health Issues in the Black Community as a must-read for anyone concerned about the future of the African American community. Health disparities continues to be one of the major issues confronting the black community. This book will help to highlight the issues and keep attention focused on the work to be done."
— Elsie Scott, PhD, president of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation

"This book is the definitive examination of health issues in black America—issues sadly overlooked and downplayed in our culture and society. I congratulate Drs. Braithwaite, Taylor, and Treadwell for their monumental book."
—Cornel West, PhD, professor, Princeton University

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780470436790
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	11/09/2009
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	620
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

The Editors

Ronald L. Braithwaite, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine, director of research in the Department of Family Medicine, and a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta. He is the coeditor of Prisons and AIDS from Jossey-Bass.

Sandra E. Taylor, PhD, is a professor and chair in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta. Taylor and Braithwaite are coeditors of the first and second editions of Health Issues in the Black Community from Jossey-Bass.

Henrie M. Treadwell, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Health and Preventive Medicine and director of Community Voices and the Men's and Reentry Health Initiative at the National Center for Primary Care at the Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta. Dr. Treadwell served for 16 years as program director at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

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Table of Contents

Foreword (Georges C. Benjamin).

Preface.

Editor Biographies.

Author Biographies.

PART ONE Health status across the life span.

1 African American Health: An Overview (Ronald L. Braithwaite, Sandra E. Taylor, Henrie M. Treadwell).

2 “Without Health and Long Life All Else Fails”: A History of African Americans and the Elimination of Racial Disparities in Health Care (Vanessa Northington Gamble).

3 The Health Status of Children and Adolescents (Desirée A. H. Oliver, Gene H. Brody).

4 The Health Status of Black Women (Sandra E. Taylor, Kisha Braithwaite Holden).

5 The Health Status of Black Men (Jean J. E. Bonhomme, April M. W. Young).

6 Health and Black Older Adults: Insights from a Life Course Perspective (Sherrill L. Sellers, Ishtar O. Govia, James S. Jackson).

PART TWO Social, mental, and environmental challenges.

7 Stigma and Mental Health in African Americans (L. DiAnne Bradford,Cassandra Newkirk, Kisha Braithwaite Holden).

8 Homicide and Violence Among African American Youth: From Epidemic to Endemic (Emilie Phillips Smith, Joseph Richardson, Rhonda BeLue?

9 Narrowing the Gap Between Supply and Demand of Organs for Transplantation: Current Issues for African Americans (Kimberly Jacob Arriola, Dana H. Z. Robinson, L. Ebony Boulware).

10 African Americans on the Frontline of Environmental Assault (Robert D. Bullard, Glenn S. Johnson, Angel O. Torres).

11 The Impact of Incarceration on the Health of African Americans (Nicholas Freudenberg, Megha Ramaswamy).

PART THREE Chronic diseases.

12 Hypertension in African American Communities (Sharon K. Davis, Rakale Collins Quarells, Gary H. Gibbons).

13 A General Overview of Cancer in the United States: Incidence and Mortality Burden Among African Americans (Shedra Amy Snipes, Donella J. Wilson, Angelina Esparza, Lovell A. Jones).

14 Health Disparities: The Case for Diabetes (Gregory Strayhorn).

15 Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (S. Sam Lim, Charmayne Dunlap-Thomas, Christina Drenkard).

16 Oral Health (Rueben C. Warren, Allan Formicolatable, Caswell A. Evans).

PART FOUR lifestyle behaviors.

17 Substance Abuse in the African American Community (Jean J. E. Bonhomme, Ronald L. Braithwaite Melita Moore).

18 HIV/AIDS in the Black Community (Ivory A. Toldson, Aba D. Essuon, Kamilah M. Woodson).

19 Tobacco Use and the Black Community in the United States: A Community-Focused Public Health Model for Eliminating Population Disparities (Robert G. Robinson, Rhonda Conerly Holliday).

20 Alcohol Use and Consequences for Blacks (Dionne C. Godette).

21 Nutrition and Obesity Issues for african Americans (Monica L. Baskin, Angela M. Odoms-Young, Shiriki K. Kumanyika, Jamy D. Ard).

22 Physical Activity (Antronette K. Yancey, Melicia C. Whitt-Glover, Mona Au Young).

PART FIVE Alternative interventions and human resources development.

23 Chiropractic Medicine: Integral to Integrative Medicine (Malika B. Gooden, Elton D. Holden).

24 The Role of Black Faith Communities in Fostering Health (Schnavia Smith Hatcher, Kimberly S. Clay, Jeronda T. Burley).

25 Community Health Workers in the Black Community: Building Trust, Alleviating Pain, and Improving Health Access (Jacqueline Martinez, Laura Joslin Frye, Leda M. Perez).

PART SIX Ethical, political, and ecological issues.

26 Using Social Marketing to Lessen Health Disparities (Mesha L. Ellis, James P. Griffin Jr., Ken Resnicow).

27 Fostering a Social Justice Approach to Health: Health Equity, Human Rights, and an Antiracism Agenda (Camara Phyllis Jones, Anthony Hatch, Adewale Troutman).

28 Closing the Gap: Eliminating Health Disparities (Henrie M. Treadwell, Ronald L. Braithwaite, Sandra E. Taylor).

Afterword (Gail C. Christopher).

Index.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"The truth hurts but silence kills. Braithwaite, Taylor, and the contributing authors of Health Issues in the Black Community have issued a wake up call to us all. All nations must wake up and deal with the health disparity gap with truth, dignity, and equity."—Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus, Cape Town, South Africa, Nobel Peace Laureate, 1984

"Drs. Braithwaite and Taylor have done it again with the Second Edition of Health Issues in the Black Community. This book examines the specific health care needs of African Americans at the same time that it offers practical solutions and recommendations to ensure the wellbeing of members of this population. A must-read for health care professionals of all races."—Kweisi Mfume, president and CEO, NAACP

"In an era in which new scientific advances seem to occur on a daily basis, the continuing disparities in physical and mental health that exist in our country are particularly disheartening. It is for this reason that publications such as Health Issues in the Black Community are a necessity. We must continue to conduct and disseminate research necessary to combat this problem and to improve the lives of our people."—Congresswoman Donna Christian-Christensen, Chair, Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust

"This book is the definitive examination of health issues in black America—issues sadly overlooked and downplayed in our culture and society. I congratulate Drs. Braithwaite and Taylor for their monumental book!"—Cornel West, Alphonse Fletcher Jr. University Professor, Harvard University

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Janine Lewis, BS, MPH, PhD (cand)(University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health)
Description: This book provides a composite of black health in the United States, over the lifespan, and uses a socio-ecological approach to present the current state of affairs and provide direction on best practices in addressing the persistent disparities. It also frames health as a result of a dynamic relationship between individual risk/facilitative behaviors and the environment in which people live, work, and play.
Purpose: The purpose is to 1) provide "a forum for debate and discussion for the prevention of disease," 2) "influence opinion leaders and provide a futuristic perspective on black health issues," and 3) "document selected unhealthy conditions and advance viable strategies for ameliorating them." Given the disparities that continue to exist in black health, especially black male health, these are certainly worthy objectives. Until we can see the true extent of the problem, we cannot seek to address it in any sustainable way. The book meets these objectives with comprehensive and thoughtful chapters by authorities in the fields.
Audience: The authors suggest a broad audience that includes "students, academicians, public policymakers, and administrators in public health and related disciplines." The book will be of most use to students, for example, enrolled in a health disparities course. The information also could be of practical use to practitioners such as public health officials at state or local agencies, or representatives at community-based organizations seeking to write a needs assessment as part of a grant proposal with blacks as a target population. The three editors have collaborated on previous editions.
Features: The book provides an overview of the major causes of morbidity and mortality among blacks in the U.S., insight into risk factors related to lifestyle choices, and a review of emerging methods to address health disparities. The best features are the discussions of how community health workers can be employed as a cost-effective way to infuse culturally relevant health messages and practices into the community, and how social marketing is an important methodology that can be used to reduce disparities. The book could have incorporated more social justice points within chapters, instead of focusing such language in the preface and afterword. It also should have included some mention of the stark disparities in black birth outcomes (i.e., infant mortality, low birth weight, preterm birth). On a minor note, the front cover picture of a shopping district with high-end stores does not correlate well with the content.
Assessment: The chapters are relevant, cutting-edge, thoughtful, and well researched by experts in the field. The information is clearly presented and could easily be used for proposals and policy documents as well as research papers. Unfortunately, there has not been as much improvement in black health as public health researchers and practitioners would have liked since the previous edition seven years ago. Thus, a new edition and a new approach focused on the individual-community interaction are required.

Doody's Review Service

This review of African American health concerns brings together 25 original essays by leading experts in the field. Introductory essays present a grim statistical portrait of current black health status and needs. Other essays deal with women's health issues, AIDS, substance abuse, chronic diseases, homicide and violence, lead poisoning, sickle cell anemia, child health issues, health of the aged, health education, reproductive rights, and health policy concerns, among other issues. This much-needed work is essential for most academic and health science collections, as well as public libraries with subject demand.-- Judith Eannarino, Washington, D.C.

Library Journal

Updating and revising the 1992 first edition, this volume addresses the social, political, and economic factors that contribute to the many health issues faced by black Americans. A foreword by the Reverend Jesse Jackson is followed by 26 essays, organized into five sections: health status across the life span; social, mental, and environmental challenges; chronic disease; lifestyle behaviors; and ethical, political, and ecological issues. Contributors include physicians, sociologists, public health workers, psychologists, epidemiologists, administrators at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and others. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

"The truth hurts but silence kills. Braithwaite, Taylor, and the contributing authors of Health Issues in the Black Community have issued a wake up call to us all. All nations must wake up and deal with the health disparity gap with truth, dignity, and equity." (Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus, Cape Town, South Africa, Nobel Peace Laureate, 1984)

"Drs. Braithwaite and Taylor have done it again with the Second Edition of Health Issues in the Black Community. This book examines the specific health care needs of African Americans at the same time that it offers practical solutions and recommendations to ensure the wellbeing of members of this population. A must-read for health care professionals of all races." (Kweisi Mfume, president and CEO, NAACP)

"In an era in which new scientific advances seem to occur on a daily basis, the continuing disparities in physical and mental health that exist in our country are particularly disheartening. It is for this reason that publications such as Health Issues in the Black Community are a necessity. We must continue to conduct and disseminate research necessary to combat this problem and to improve the lives of our people." (Congresswoman Donna Christian-Christensen, Chair, Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust)

"This book is the definitive examination of health issues in black America—issues sadly overlooked and downplayed in our culture and society. I congratulate Drs. Braithwaite and Taylor for their monumental book!" (Cornel West, Alphonse Fletcher Jr. University Professor, Harvard University)

"A must for all physicians and persons interested in improving the health status of the African American population." (Choice, 12/01)

From the Publisher