Culture and Health

Praise for Culture and Health Winkelman amazes us once more with the quality and scope of his new book, Culture and Health: Applying Medical Anthropology, as he helps us understand the way that medical anthropology's biocultural approach expands the biomedical perspective-he covers Êa vast array of topics, including cultural Êcompetence, cultural systems models, cultural effect on biology, ethnomedicine and alternative medicine, and understanding health activities as cultural practices-a must have for the student, practitioner, or scholar! -Marlene Dobkin de Rios, PhD, associate clinical professor of psychiatry and human behavior, University of California, Irvine and professor emerita of anthropology, California State University, Fullerton This is the most comprehensive, holistic, and practical text on medical anthropology I have read in my eighteen years of teaching and practice. It skillfully weaves together rich and clear explanations of all vital topics in medical anthropology with user-friendly practical application models and assessment instruments for easy use with self, patients, health care providers, and community members. The book is a medical anthropology gem -Mikel Hogan PhD, applied cultural anthropologist and professor and chair, Human Services Department, California State University, Fullerton In this thorough and well-constructed introduction to medical anthropology, Winkelman has provided a key resource for health sciences students, beginning researchers, and health professionals who are committed to a comprehensive perspective on the means by which culture-systems, models, beliefs, and practices-affect sickness and healing. The book will be of use to students studying the applications of the social sciences to health and health care, public health scientists wanting a broad view of the means by which social and cultural systems affect the health of communities and populations, and clinicians who wish to develop greater cultural competence in their relationships with patients and their families. -Craig R. Janes, PhD, professor, associate dean, and director, Global Health Faculty of Health Science, Simon Fraser University