Family Health Care

More effective prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation will be the outcome of including the family unit in the delivery of primary care, as opposed to primary care aimed solely at individuals. This is the proposal explored by this volume's interdisciplinary contributors, who discuss theory, practice, education and research methodology related to primary care.

What happens when you include the family in the delivery of primary care? Do patients rehabilitate faster? How are prevention, treatment, and diagnosis affected? In Family Health Care, an interdisciplinary group of scholars addresses these questions and provides insight into the awakening interest in family-oriented care. This timely volume shows how recent changes in family life challenge traditional approaches to family-oriented care, examines models for training physicians to "think family," presents exemplars of family-oriented care, and provides models for intervention in applying family practice. The contributors also furnish an overview of research on family health care and discuss future directions in the methodology of family-oriented health care. Family Health Care is destined to become an indispensable resource for teachers and academics in family medicine and nursing, as well as specialists working in the field including social workers, psychologists, family therapists, and family/health care researchers. "It is a valuable book because it makes both theory and practice very accessible even to the reader who may not previously have considered these issues in any depth." --Health and Social Care "This text is well referenced with a helpful index. It provides a concise overview of relevant family systems theory, methodology, and approaches toward family therapy and research. The dialogue is thought provoking and, at times, controversial. . . . This book contributes importantly to one of the most critical issues in family medicine affecting our conceptual foundation, our self-perception, and our future."