The New Harvard Guide to Women's Health - Hardcover

Carlson, Karen J.; Eisenstat, Stephanie A.; Ziporyn, Terra

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674012828 ISBN 13: 9780674012820

Publisher: Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press, 2004

Synopsis

With the publication in 1996 of The Harvard Guide to Women's Health, women seeking answers to questions about their health had access to the combined expertise of physicians from three of the world's most prestigious medical institutions: Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Brigham and Women's Hospital. With complete information on women's health concerns, physical and behavioral, this A to Z reference quickly became a definitive resource, praised especially for its coverage of topics not previously considered under the umbrella of women's health. The New Harvard Guide to Women's Health reunites the authors to bring a valued health reference up to date for a new generation--and for those women who have come to rely on the Harvard Guide and are now wondering what to do about their health as they enter a new stage of life, asking questions like the following: I've been on hormone replacement therapy. Should I stop? How?
Could this rash be lupus?
I've been on the Pill. What is my risk for stroke?
Fat is bad, fat is good: What should I believe? And what's left to eat?
When does ordinary worry become chronic anxiety?
What screening tests do I need now?
In addition to revised recommendations reflecting the current medical thinking on menopause and hormone replacement therapy, the New Harvard Guide includes updated recommendations about cardiac health and heart disease--the #1 killer of women in the United States
entries reflecting recent advances in the understanding and treatment of autoimmune diseases
better coverage of health concerns throughout a woman's life span, from her first period to menopause and beyond, with a new entry on perimenopause
expanded nutritional recommendations, including a unique chart of the U.S. government's Daily Reference Intakes for micronutrients, broken down for teens and women whose needs may differ because they are pregnant, breastfeeding, or postmenopausal
updated information on over-the-counter medications, prescription drugs, procedures, screenings, and diagnostic tests

About this title

About the Authors

Karen J. Carlson, M.D., is a pioneer in the field of primary care for women. She founded Women’s Health Associates at Massachusetts General Hospital and is currently Director of this innovative center, which has been widely emulated in other medical centers throughout the country. Dr. Carlson is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her research and academic publications focus on hysterectomy, ovarian cancer screening, and communication between doctors and patients. She lectures frequently to thousands of physicians in continuing education courses at Harvard and other major medical schools.

Stephanie A. Eisenstat, M.D., is an internist with Women’s Health Associates at Massachusetts General Hospital and Assistant Professor of Medicine and Scholar at The Academy, Harvard Medical School. She directs a course for physicians in training, Trauma and Injury Control, and is coeditor, with Dr. Karen Carlson, of Primary Care of Women, one of the first medical textbooks devoted to the emerging specialty of women’s primary care.

Terra Ziporyn, Ph.D., is a historian of science and medicine, a medical journalist, and a former associate editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The author of numerous books, including Nameless Diseases, she has written widely about topics in women’s health, including heart disease, behavioral health, autoimmune disorders, and alternative medicine.

Reviews

Librarians will breathe a sigh of relief at the release of this new edition. There is so much good information in the 1996 version, but eight years is a long time in the area of medical guides, and many of us have likely withdrawn the previous edition.

As before, the guide's major focus is on diseases and disorders of the female reproductive system and how diseases common to both sexes may manifest themselves differently in women. The most important change is the updated information on estrogen replacement therapy. In 1996 ERT was viewed as an ideal treatment for women. The 2002 findings of the Women's Health Initiative changed that thinking completely. The research results and the current position of medical professionals are reflected in this edition. Medical advances in the treatment of other diseases and disorders are also covered. The growing acceptance of alternative medicine is reflected in revised articles on the topic. Among the new entries are Airbags, Dissociative identity disorder,^B Lyme disease, and Lymphedema.

This edition is 30 pages shorter than the previous one but contains more entries and a center "blue pages" section with bodily systems diagrams, nutrition charts, and more. The page reduction has been accomplished by the use of smaller type. Information on diseases and disorders is presented as questions and answers addressing definitions, symptoms, treatments, and prevention. A topical resource list gives organizations to be contacted for additional information. Many labeled medical drawings appear throughout the book.

The guide is an outstanding source for public and professional libraries. It is aimed at an educated readership. Given the recent publicity on the literacy problem in consumer health information materials (most of which are written at a tenth-grade reading level and above), libraries should be sure to provide other sources on the topic. Marlene Kuhl
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674012828
• ISBN 13: 9780674012820
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 712