Handbook of Families and Health: Interdisciplinary Perspectives

“First, there is a need for a book like this, one that pulls together recent work on families and health. Second, the chapters are written by some of the best people in the field. . . the coverage is comprehensive and should appeal to a number of different audiences. . . Russ Crane is experienced in this area and a reliable and established scholar. . . . In sum, it is a fine contribution.”
                 ―William Doherty, University of Minnesota, Past-President National Council on Family Relations

Handbook of Families and Health: Interdisciplinary Perspectives presents state-of-the-art summaries of research related to couple, marital, and family influences on health. Editors D. Russell Crane and Elaine S. Marshall, along with a distinguished group of contributors across various disciplines, bring complementary perspectives to a wide range of families and health issues. A major goal of this Handbook is to highlight common issues, concerns, and goals across diverse fields and the benefits of bringing multiple perspectives to these issues. A significant portion of the book is devoted to interventions to improve family health.

Key Features: 

– Includes contributions from authors that are respected experts from a broad range of disciplines including family studies, marriage and family therapy, nursing and family medicine, gerontology, health psychology and behavioral medicine, social work, and public policy to provide readers with multiple perspectives

– Covers a number of important health issues, including cancer, eating disorders, mental illness, the influence of close relationships on health, and how families cope with chronic illness, caregiving, and end-of-life care and bereavement to address the most significant health issues affecting families

– Devotes special attention to Latino and African American health, childhood poverty, genetically transmitted diseases, infertility, and parental HIV/AIDS to offer insight on how these issues are particularly vital in today′s world

– Presents a discussion on “agent-based modeling” to provide readers with a dynamic methodology that will become a significant model in the study of families and close relationships

The Handbook is designed for scholars, graduate students, and practitioners in the field of families and health. It is a cross-disciplinary resource for a variety of programs and departments, including Family Studies, Nursing, Health Psychology, and Public Policy.