Women'S Health Care : A Comprehensive Handbook

The tremendous forces of political and social change experienced by women in the 1980s have altered their perceptions, expectations, and demands. In the medical arena, this has meant the advancement of a more proactive role for women in the choice and direction of their individual health care. Documenting the shift toward increased personal responsibility, Women′s Health Care analyzes myriad women′s health issues in a sociological context. Opening with the presentation of vital demographics, the editors structure their initial exploration within specific age groups. The second section focuses on women′s experiences as recipients of nursing care, both as patients receiving treatment and as "well" patients seeking preventive care. The next section addresses the promotion of women′s health--including such topics as nutrition, exercise, and fertility control--in terms of current theory and research. In the final section, the authors consider several health concerns that are specific to women, but common among them. Essential reading for practicing nurses and advanced students in nursing, public health, and gender studies interested in women′s health issues, Women′s Health Care provides an encompassing study of this crucial area. "An excellent guide to all aspects of women′s health." --The Bookwatch "An impressive collection showing conclusively that women′s health can no longer be viewed as some kind of minor deviation from the norm of men′s health. The range of topics covered in the 29 chapters is immense, as one would expect a book of over 700 pages, but this breadth is never achieved at the expense of detailed research-based exploration and exposition of the issues. The scope is a real strength in that there are discursive socio-political, feminist and philosophical considerations to compliment the more clinical aspects of women′s health discussed. . . . This must be the most comprehensive and vital book on women′s health today. It should be in every nursing library, ward or clinic where women are cared for and in the hands of every nurse practicing in this area." --Nursing Times