Bedouin Health : Perspectives from Israel

The "global village" has resulted in the need to tackle cross-cultural issues in the health field. Especially the southern region of Israel (the Negev), which provides a unique opportunity to study the interaction between medicine and culture. The Negev population is a multicultural society, with Bedouin Arabs comprising almost a fifth of its population. This imposes tremendous challenges to the health establishment in the region and serves as a "cross-cultural laboratory" for educating health professionals in global health issues. Both the traditional Israeli medical school track, as well as the Medical School for International Medicine at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev, incorporate studies of cross-cultural issues in various forms and to different degrees. Studies suggest that the exposure of students to international medical experiences increases their cross-cultural sensitivity, knowledge and expertise. In this book, you will find research from this region concerned with various aspects of Bedouin health, which we hope will give you a picture of various health issues from the southern region of Israel.