Reference Reviews

Lawrence Looks at Books

Encyclopedia of Global Health, edited by Yawei Zhang. 4 vols. 2,002p. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Reference, 2008. 978-1-4129-4186-0; 2007-37954. $625.

Encyclopedia of Global Health West Nile Virus, AIDS and SARS are but the latest examples of the globalization of disease. Contagions have long spread from continent to continent as one population had contact with another. The Black Death first swept Asia and Europe during the fourteenth centuries and returned almost every generation for nearly five hundred years. Smallpox and other Old World diseases decimated the indigenous peoples of the Americas following their first contact with Europeans. The flu pandemic of 1918 and 1919 caused more casualties than the First World War. The difference today is that with the globalization of trade and travel the potential speed at which diseases can spread from a small localized outbreak to a world-wide danger is greatly accelerated. As a result, the response of public health officials must be equally rapid. The infectious agents behind AIDS went unidentified and uncontained for more than two years. The world response to SARS was more effective, with the contagion contained within two months. However, infectious diseases are not the only health conditions affected by globalization. Stress, heart disease, diabetes, and technology-related accidents have spread as indigenous diets and ways of life have given way to urbanization and industrialization. Thus the health issues of developed societies have become increasingly world health issues.

This new encyclopedia explores these changes in the picture of world health. More than 1,200 articles describe the most commonly occurring diseases, injuries, and health disorders around the world. Discussions include related symptoms, diagnostic techniques, and treatment options. Regional differences in prevalence and treatment are frequently noted. Country-by-country surveys of health conditions in each nation highlight the prevalence of disease, the availability of medical services, and other health issues. Major pathogens and environmental factors affecting health also are explored. Other articles describe issue affecting particular populations, including men, women and children. Selected biographies and sketches of professional associations, government agencies, and international nongovernmental organizations focus on people working to improve health conditions around the globe. Also examined are public health policies, drug therapies and typical research methodologies. As an aid to the user, the index and list of articles are reprinted in each volume. Supplemental materials include an extensive glossary of medical terms and comparative international data on life expectancy and health expenditures. The result is a solid encyclopedia of general medicine that will serve students and general readers in academic and public libraries.
—John R.M. Lawrence