This comprehensive yet practical handbook consolidates information needed by health psychologists working alongside other healthcare professionals. It facilitates the progression of the learner from the classroom to the clinical setting by focusing on the translation of science to practice using practical examples. The Handbook is divided into four major parts. Part I highlights practical issues faced by health psychologists in a medical setting (how to motivate patients, consultation-liaison, assessment and screening, brief psychotherapies, ethical issues, etc.) Part II concentrates on treating unhealthy behaviors (alcohol and nicotine use, noncompliance, overeating/obesity, physical inactivity, stress). Part III considers behavioral aspects of medical problems (pain management, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, sexual dysfunction, HIV/AIDS, irritable bowel syndrome, insomnia). And Part IV takes up special issues relevant to practice and research in the field (minority issues, women’s issues, working with geriatric populations, public health approaches to health psychology and behavioral medicine). The Handbook will prove to be an invaluable resource for those already working in the field of health psychology as well as for those in training.

Ethnocultural Issues in Behavioral Medicine

Ethnocultural issues in behavioral medicine

There are substantial and persistent racial/ethnic disparities in health. Compared with Caucasian Americans, ethnic minorities have poorer health (Keppel, Pearcy, & Wagener, 2002; Williams, 2000), receive poorer quality health care, and have poorer prognoses and treatment outcomes (Smedley, Stith, & Nelson, 2002; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1999). Moreover, these health disparities remain even after adjusting for socioeconomic status, severity of illness, and discrepancies in access to care. The continued failure to close these persistent racial/ethnic disparities in health status, combined with the rapid increase in the ethnic and cultural diversity in the United States, has serious public health consequences and results in increased demand on an already challenged health care system. If left ...

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