Book Reviews

The Quest For Health

This book provides a comprehensive description of Nepal's health system. It describes the health situation, health care services system and management, and health and human resources development. The book begins with a historical analysis and eventually covers many facts and contemporary issues such as health rights, primary health care, hospital services, family planning, insurance, diseases, policy-making and medical research and ends with an appraisal of the current medical system in the Kingdom. The book is written in a clear and understandable language.
It is a very good reference for medical students, medical instructors, health systems development consultants, international organisations, health planners, health professionals, and health system researchers.
For more information contact Dr Hemang Dixit,
E-mail: - hdixit@npl.healthnet.org
- hdixit@healthnet.org.np
Website: -http://www.healthnet.org/hnet/np/dixit.html

Dr Hemang Dixit (second Edition), Published by Educational Enterprise (P) Ltd., Mahankalsthan, P.O.Box 425, Kathmandu, Nepal. 1999. 291pp; original: English.

Thailand Health Profile 1997-1998

This book presents the current health situation and health trends in Thailand. It also analyses the impact of the economic crisis on the health system.
It starts by describing the country profile, the medium term National Health Plan, and situation and trends of health status and health problems. Several components of the health care system are covered, i.e. health resources, organization, financing and management. The evolution and development of the Ministry of Public Health, the main national health authority, as well as major achievements of health programs and activities implemented in Thailand are described.
It is an important reference for all concerned, notably those in the international health field, health systems researchers, planners, public health administrators as well as the general public.
For more information, you can contact: Textbook Project, Bureau of Health Policy and Plan, Office of Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Health, Muang, Nonthaburi, 11000 Tel: 66-2-5901385 Fax: 66-2-5901380

Suwit Wibulpolprasert, editor, Published by Bureau of Health Policy and Plan, Ministry of Public Health, Tiwanond Road, Muang, Nonthaburi 11000, Thailand. 2000. 314pp; original: English

Doctor-Patient communication about drugs:
the evidence for shared decision making

Medical doctors usually make decisions on behalf of their patients. People in this new century have more access to medical information and demand more involvement in medical decision making.
This study attempts to examine the characteristics of shared decision making between patients and GPs in the UK using a model developed by Charles, et al. The study focuses only on the first two of four characteristics of Charles' model. These are (1) both the patient and the doctor are involved and (2) both parties share information.
The author studies two consultations and interviews both the patients and doctors. He found little evidence that both doctors and patients participate in the consultations. Several factors were cited by the participating GPs as barriers to the shared decision making. These are lack of time, patient's willingness and ability to participate, hospital based nature of medical training as well as other organizational pressures in general practice.

Fiona A, Atevenson, Christine A. Barry, Nicky Britten, Nick Barber, Colin P. Bradley. Social Science&Medicine. 2000;50:829-840

Workforce diversity:
implications for the effectiveness of health care delivery team

Nursing care teams are highly reliant on mutual respect and effective communication among team members. These are influenced by racial diversity. This paper examines the implications of racial diversity for the self-perceived communication effectiveness of nursing care teams (NCTs). The author carried out fourteen focus group discussions from two study hospitals in northeastern USA in order to get information to develop grounded theory on this issue. They found that different perspectives and alternative realities resulting from racial diversity contribute basically to the conflict and dissatisfaction with team communication. Three additional factors reinforce the conflict, i.e., social isolation, selective perception and stereotype. The authors also found that leadership of the NCTs team leader is a powerful mitigating factor.
The method used in this paper may be applied to study the implication of other workforce diversity as well.

Dreachslin J L, Hunt P L, Sprainer E, Social Science&Medicine. 2000;50: 1403-1414