Handbooks for Health Professionals
 

 

 
 
 



 

 








 

Book coverCulture, religion and childbearing in a multiracial society

by Judith Schott and Alix Henley
Butterworth-Heinemann, 1996 - 361 pages

Read a sample chapter

About the book
In a plural society, everyone involved in providing, planning or managing women's health services requires special skills to meet individual cultural and religious needs. This unique and sensitive book presents down-to-earth, practical and constructive ways of enhancing practice in all areas of women's health care. It is rooted in the experiences and views of women and their families.

The book offers:
A framework for identifying and meeting individual needs
Information about how culture and religion may influence personal needs
Opportunities to reflect on current practice
Concrete and supportive advice on essential interpersonal skills
Practical approaches to creating an accessible and responsive service which benefits everyone equally
Guidance for providers, educators and managers.

Although written for a British publisher, the principles, insights and practical help this book offers have proven relevant to anyone providing health care for women and their families from different communities and backgrounds.
Read a sample chapter View chapter list

Readers' comments and reviews
'...my own beliefs have been challenged by this book and I have found it useful as a practising midwife. I therefore recommend the book for any health care library and encourage readers to take time to read the book for maximum benefit.'
Inprint Multidisciplinary Health Journal
   
'The authors stress that only by understanding our own culture-based beliefs and values can we avoid stereotyping, and develop a sensitive and intelligent understanding of what the issues might be for people of other groups and communities. If you need convincing that you should get hold of a copy of this book, let me tell you that I began by noting particularly useful passages, but they were so numerous - almost one on every page - that I had to abandon the task and order my own copy'.
Anne Lunt, New Generation Digest
     
'Living and working in a multicultural society, this book contains much of relevance for all health care professionals, irrespective of discipline. It is clearly written and actively engages the reader, encouraging them to think about different issues by challenging their own experiences in order to appreciate what the issues might be for people in other groups. The authors encourage us to avoid stereotypes and generalisations by indicating the subtleties and variations that exist within each culture. The need to respect the individual person and to acknowledge their special needs proves a central theme..A real joy to review, this book is good, clearly written and sensitive. Read it!'
Trudy Stevens, MIDIRS Midwifery Digest
  
Read a sample chapter Back to top

LIST OF CHAPTERS

Part One: Culture, 'Race' and Health Care
1. Culture and difference
2. Culture and health care
3. Immigration and change
4. Racial discrimination in society
5. Racial discrimination: health and health care
6. Challenging inequalities
  
Part Two: Communication
7. Communication in a multiracial society
8. Language and culture
9. The language barrier
10. Communicating across a language barrier
11. Working with professional interpreters
12. Informal interpreters: a short-term measure
13. Written material
14. Getting people's names right
  
Part Three: Implications for Practice
15. Finding out what people need
16. Personal heritage and religious belief
17. Families, relationships and roles
18. Daily living
19. Pregnancy and antenatal care
20. Labour and birth
21. The postnatal period
22. Childbearing losses
23. Implications for purchasers, service managers and educators
  
Part Four Specific Health Issues
24. Female circumcision - female genital mutilation
25.  Haemoglobinopathies
26. HIV and AIDS
27. Refugees and asylum seekers
28.  Substance use
29.  Tay-Sachs disease
  
Part Five Specific Cultures and Religions
Includes chapters on the history and traditional cultures of African-Caribbean communities, Akan (Ghanaian) communities, Nigerian communities, Somali communities and South Asian communities.
Also chapters on Christianity, including Seventh Day Adventism and Pentecostalism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Judaism and Sikhism.
Back to reviews Back to top

book icon Read a sample chapter

book icon Buy from Amazon  

 Link to Judith Schott's training courses

 Butterworth-Heinemann's website

    

 

[ Childbearing ]  [ Patient Care ]  [ When a Baby Dies ] [ About Alix Henley ]

site created by The Word Pool