This is the only reference currently available that focuses on the treatment of patients living with chronic diseases in poor and minority populations.

Medical professors at the University of California-San Francisco examine the complex nature of caring for populations of lower socioeconomic status and minority racial backgrounds. The 41 chapters in the textbook explain how population medicine and systems approaches to caring for vulnerable patients can improve care, and they identify particular conditions or social circumstances that can lead to worse care.
Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Medical professors at the University of California-San Francisco examine the complex nature of caring for populations of lower socioeconomic status and minority racial backgrounds. The 41 chapters in the textbook explain how population medicine and systems approaches to caring for vulnerable patients can improve care, and they identify particular conditions or social circumstances that can lead to worse care. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Type and Scope of Book: A comprehensive multiauthored review of principles that are necessary to provide medical care for underserved and vulnerable patients.

Contents: This comprehensive text offers the background and practical knowledge required to teach health care professionals to care for vulnerable populations, both at the individual and the systems level. The book is organized into 3 sections: Principles, Practice, and Populations. The 41 chapters explore issues that range from understanding the laws and regulations governing the care of medically underserved populations to ethical dilemmas that may arise. Each chapter features both critical concepts and common pitfalls and ends with a Core Competency section that highlights key concepts for review and easy reading.

Strengths: The book is fairly comprehensive, well organized, and easy to read. Each chapter contains specific objectives as well as discussion questions and resources that can be practical for physician-educators.

Deficiencies: None identified.

Recommended Readership: Students, residents, fellows, and all health care educators, particularly those interested in the areas of cultural competency and health disparities.

Overall Grading: ****

This is the only reference currently available that focuses on the treatment of patients living with chronic diseases in poor and minority populations.

Section I: PRINCIPLES

Chapter 1: Vulnerable Populations and Health Disparities: An Overview

Kevin Grumbach, MD, Paula Braveman, MD, MPH, Nancy Adler, PhD, and Andrew B. Bindman, MD

Chapter 2: Health Care Disparities: An Overview

Andrew B. Bindman, MD, Kevin Grumbach, MD, and Talmadge E. King Jr., MD

Chapter 3: Financing and Organization of Healthcare for Vulnerable Populations

Virginia W. Huang, MPH, and Christopher B. Forrest, MD, PhD

Chapter 4: Legal Issues in the Care of Underserved Populations

Sara Rosenbaum, JD, and Sara E. Wilensky, JD, MPP

Chapter 5: Principles in the Ethical Care of Underserved Patients

Bernard Lo, MD

Section II: PRACTICE

Chapter 6: Creating a Context for Effective Intervention in the Clinical Care of Vulnerable Patients

Dean Schillinger, MD, Teresa J. Villela, MD, and George William Saba, PhD

Chapter 7: Promoting Behavior Change

Daniel S. Lessler, MD, MHA, and Christopher Dunn, PhD

Chapter 8: Assessing and Promoting Medical Adherence

Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, and M. Robin DiMatteo, PhD

Chapter 9: Navigating Cross-Cultural Communication

JudyAnn Bigby, MD

Chapter 10: Improving the Effectiveness of Patient Education: A Focus on Limited Health Literacy

Michael K. Paasche-Orlow, MD, MA, MPH, and Ruth M. Parker MD

Chapter 11: The Home Visit/Mobile Outreach

Dan Wlodarczyk, MD, and Margaret B. Wheeler, MD

Chapter 12: Group Medical Visits for Underserved PopulationsHali Hammer, MD

Chapter 13: Applying Interactive Health Technologies for Vulnerable Populations

John D. Piette, PhD, and Dean Schillinger, MD

Chapter 14: Applying Principles and Practice of Quality Improvement to Better Care for the Underserved

Gordon D. Schiff, MD, and Seijeoung Kim, RN, PhD

Chapter 15: Case Management/Multidisciplinary Care Models

Michelle Schneidermann, MD, and Alicia Fernandez, MD

Chapter 16: Health and the Community

Naomi Wortis, MD, Ellen Beck, MD, and Joanne Donsky, MSW

Section III: POPULATIONS

Chapter 17: Underserved Children: Preventing Chronic Illness and Promoting Health

Patricia Barreto, MD, MPH, Victor H. Perez, MD, MPH, and Neal Halfon, MD, MPH

Chapter 18: Adolescence and its Vulnerabilities

William B. Shore, MD, FAAFP, Margaret A. Scott, RN, MSN, FNP, and Ellen M. Scarr, RNC, MS, FNP, WHNP

Chapter 19: The Family as the Context for Care

George William Saba, PhD, and Teresa J. Villela, MD

Chapter 20: The Hidden Poor: Care of the Elderly

Helen Chen, MD, and C. Seth Landefeld, MD

Chapter 21: Work, Living Environment, and Health

Janet Victoria Diaz, MD, and John R. Balmes, MD

Chapter 22: Care of the Dying Patient

Lavera M. Crawley, MD, MPH

Chapter 23: Clinical Care for Persons with a History of Incarceration

Emily A. Wang, MD, Jacqueline P. Tulsky, MD, and Mary C. White, RN, MPH, PhD

Chapter 24: Care of the Homeless Patient

Margot Kushel, MD, and Sharad Jain, MD

Chapter 25: Immigrant Health Issues

Susana Morales, MD

Chapter 26: Providing Care to Patients Who Speak Limited English

Alice Hm Chen, MD, MPH, and Elizabeth A. Jacobs, MD, MPP

Chapter 27: Sexuality as Vulnerability: The Care of Lesbian and Gay Patients

Anne Rosenthal, MD, and Allison Diamant, MD, MSHS

Chapter 28: The Medical Treatment of Patients with Psychiatric Illness

Douglas R. Price-Hanson, MD

Chapter 29: Women's Health: Reproduction and Beyond in Poor Women

Elizabeth Harleman, MD, and Jody Steinauer, MD, MAS

Chapter 30: Intimate Partner Violence

Leigh Kimberg, MD

Chapter 31: Obesity as a Clinical and Social Problem

Ann Smith Barnes, MD, Marisa Rogers, MD, MPH, and Cam-Tu Tran, MD, MS

Chapter 32: Chronic Pain Management in Vulnerable Populations

Michael B. Potter, MD, Yeva M. Johnson, MD, and Barry D. Zevin, MD

Chapter 33: Principles of Caring for Alcohol and Drug Users

Alexander Y. Walley, MD, and F. Joseph Roll, MD

Chapter 34: Tobacco Use

Clemens Hong, MD, MPH, Suzanne Harris, RN, Paul G. Brunetta, MD, and Neal Benowitz, MD

Chapter 35: Dental Care: The Forgotten Need

Matthew Nealon, DDS, and Francisco Ramos-Gomez, DDS, MS, MPH

Chapter 36: Chronic Disease

Margaret B. Wheeler, MD, Teresa J. Villela, MD, and Thomas S. Bodenheimer, MD

Chapter 37: Disability and Patients with Disabilities

Margot Kushel, MD, and Lisa I. Iezzoni, MD, MSc

Chapter 38: HIV/AIDS: Impact on Vulnerable Populations

Meg D. Newman, MD, and Margaret B. Wheeler, MD

Chapter 39: Care of Ill Socially Complicated Patients in the Hospital

Jeffrey M. Critchfield, MD, and Mark V. Williams, MD, FACP

Chapter 40: Caring for Oneself While Caring for OthersLee Lipsenthal, MD

Chapter 41: Advocacy

Thomas P. O'Toole, MD