Community-based health research: issues and methods.Springer Publishing Company, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , New York ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m : 0-8261-2025-3 Pages: 240, Price: U.S.$39.95 So many, 11 of 14, contributors to this volume are from the Atlanta area that I expected this book to speak with a Southern drawl. That it does not attests to how much this metropolis, growing in kudzu-fashion, has changed. This element of profound change is also a major motif in the l0 chapters collected by the editors to promote community-based health research as a mechanism for addressing historic wrongs. The book is aptly titled and subtitled. Former Surgeon General The U.S. Surgeon General is charged with the protection and advancement of health in the United States. Since the 1960s the surgeon general has become a highly visible federal public health official, speaking out against known health risks such as tobacco use, and promoting disease David Satcher writes in a concise but illuminating foreword, "Community-based research is where medicine, public health, and science meet." In the opening chapter, Daniel Blumenthal and Elleen Yancey herald the arrival of a "new paradigm New Paradigm In the investing world, a totally new way of doing things that has a huge effect on business. Notes: The word "paradigm" is defined as a pattern or model, and it has been used in science to refer to a theoretical framework. " in which community members become full partners with "culturally competent" researchers. To them, community-based research is population centered, prevention focused, multidisciplinary, collaborative, enlightening, and empowering. Caswell Evans follows by adding "evidence-based" assessments, findings, and guidance to the mix. In chapter 3, Bill Jenkins, Camara Jones, and Blumenthal address some of the ethical issues related to community-based research by describing, analyzing, and drawing lessons from the Tuskegee syphilis study The Tuskegee Syphilis Study constituted one of the most shameful acts in the history of American medicine. The repercussions of this study, which allowed 400 African American men afflicted with syphilis to go untreated for a period of almost 40 years, are felt to this day. . Culturally and linguistically diverse voices from the community are heard in chapter 4. Attention shifts from issues to methods in the last 6 chapters of the book. In textbook fashion, Nabih R. Asal and Laura A. Beebe distinguish observational studies observational studies, n.pl an investigational method involving description of the associations be-tween interventions and outcomes. Outcomes research and practice audits are examples of this investigational method. from experimental designs in chapter 5 and remind the reader of the importance of person, place, and time in epidemiologic investigations. The strengths and weaknesses of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a United States national health survey that looks at behavioral risk factors. It is run by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and conducted by the individual states. are illustrated by Deborah Holtzman in chapter 6. Qualitative research methods are described in chapter 7 and applied to a case study of 45 African-American, female crack-cocaine users in chapter 8. Community intervention trials are introduced and a half dozen are reviewed in chapter 9. Then the book rather abruptly ends with a short chapter on cardiovascular risk-reduction community intervention trials. Instructors looking for a graduate-level textbook may find this recent addition to the preventive medicine literature incomplete. It fails to link community-based research with theories of social and cultural change; the principles and practices of community mobilization; and the identification, development, implementation, and evaluation of culturally competent interventions. The editors have produced an adequate introduction to community-based research issues and methods, but a concluding section that serves to pull all the components together would put additional copies of this publication in college bookstores. Address for correspondence: William W. Darrow, Robert R. Stempel School of Public Health, Florida International University Florida International University, primarily at University Park, Miami; coeducational; chartered 1965, opened 1972. A research university, it has 18 colleges and schools and many specialized centers and institutes, including those in biomedical engineering, database , 3000 NE 151st St. TR-7, North Miami, Florida North Miami is a city located in northeast Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, about 10 miles (16 km) north of the City of Miami. 33181-3600. USA: fax: 305-919-5673: email: darroww@fiu.cdu William W. Darrow, Florida International University, North Miami, Florida, USA |
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