Antonovsky's book challenges the health care community to reassess its approach to health. He asserts that the focus for too long has been solely on illness and the treatment of specific disease, with little or no attention directed at the factors and conditions necessary for health. The author offers a way to evaluate the psychological, social, and cultural factors that relate to health and well-being. Antonovsky presents a model that he calls the ``sense of coherence'' (SOC), suggesting that the way people make sense of the world is a major factor in their health. He provides, as an appendix, a questionnaire for assessing the SOC for individuals to evaluate and predict how well they manage stress and stay healthy. This model was presented by Antonovsky in an earlier work, but this volume provides more detail on both the theoretical and research database for the SOC. Insight is provided on how SOC affects neuroendocrine and immunological processes and thus overall health. The conceptual framework presented in this book is useful and important. The writing style, however, is often cumbersome, making for difficult reading. In addition, the author assumes readers are familiar with his earlier work, Health, Stress and Coping (CH, Jan '80); readers not acquainted with its content will find it difficult to follow the ideas being presented. In spite of these shortcomings, the book sets an important direction for thought in the evolution of health promotion strategies.

The advent of complex and powerful computer-generated statistical models has greatly eroded the former prominence of social theory in data analysis, replacing it with an emphasis on statistical technique. To correct this trend, Carol S. Aneshensel presents a method for bringing data analysis and statistical technique into line with theory. She approaches this task by first providing an overview that explains the connection between data analysis, statistical technique, and theory. This section includes a description of the elaboration model for analyzing the empirical association between two variables by adding a third variable to the analysis. Aneshensel then introduces a new concept into this model, the focal relationship. This concept is the one cause-and-effect type of relationship of primary significance that is indispensable to the entire theory. Building upon the focal relationship as the cornerstone for all subsequent analysis, two analytic strategies are developed to establish its internal validity: *An exclusionary strategy to eliminate alternative explanations for the focal relationship using control and other independent variables to rule out spuriousness and redundanc

Selected for inclusion in this book is material on stress, coping and health that is considered to be the most thoroughly developed and studied within the nursing perspective. There is a balance between theoretical development, research, measurement and implications for practice.

This open access book is a thorough update and expansion of the 2017 edition of The Handbook of Salutogenesis, responding to the rapidly growing salutogenesis research and application arena. Revised and updated from the first edition are background and historical chapters that trace the development of the salutogenic model of health and flesh out the central concepts, most notably generalized resistance resources and the sense of coherence that differentiate salutogenesis from pathogenesis. From there, experts describe a range of real-world applications within and outside health contexts. Many new chapters emphasize intervention research findings. Readers will find numerous practical examples of how to implement salutogenesis to enhance the health and well-being of families, infants and young children, adolescents, unemployed young people, pre-retirement adults, and older people. A dedicated section addresses how salutogenesis helps tackle vulnerability, with chapters on at-risk children, migrants, prisoners, emergency workers, and disaster-stricken communities. Wide-ranging coverage includes new topics beyond health, like intergroup conflict, politics and policy-making, and architecture. The book also focuses on applying salutogenesis in birth and neonatal care clinics, hospitals and primary care, schools and universities, workplaces, and towns and cities. A special section focuses on developments in salutogenesis methods and theory. With its comprehensive coverage, The Handbook of Salutogenesis, 2nd Edition, is the standard reference for researchers, practitioners, and health policy-makers who wish to have a thorough grounding in the topic. It is also written to support post-graduate education courses and self-study in public health, nursing, psychology, medicine, and social sciences.

This in-depth survey of salutogenesis shows the breadth and strengths of this innovative perspective on health promotion, health care, and wellness. Background and historical chapters trace the development of the salutogenic model of health, and flesh out the central concepts, most notably generalized resistance resources and the sense of coherence, that differentiate it from pathogenesis. From there, experts describe a range of real-world applications within and outside health contexts, from positive psychology to geriatrics, from small towns to corrections facilities, and from school and workplace to professional training. Perspectives from scholars publishing in languages other than English show the global relevance of the field. Among the topics in the Handbook: · Emerging ideas relevant to the salutogenic model of health · Specific resistance resources in the salutogenic model of health · The sense of coherence and its measurement · The application of salutogenesis in communities and neighborhoods · The application of salutogenesis to health development in youth with chronic conditions · The application of salutogenesis in mental health care settings The Handbook of Salutogenesis summarizes an increasingly salient field for graduate and professional students of public health, nursing, psychology, and medicine, and for their instructors. It will also appeal to health-related academicians and professionals who wish to have a thorough grounding in the topic.

Health Education: Critical perspectives provides a socio-cultural and critical approach to health education. The book draws together international experts in the fields of health and education who deconstruct contemporary discourses and practices, and re-imagine a health education that both connects with young people and offers a way forward in addressing issues of health and wellbeing. Chapters within specifically link academic work on neoliberalism, healthism, risk and the body to wider discourses of health and health education. They challenge current practices and call for a re-thinking of current health programs in education settings. A unique feature of this book is the analyses of health education from both political and applied levels across a range of international contexts. The book is divided into three sections: the social and political contexts informing health education how individual health issues (sexuality, alcohol, mental health, the body and obesity, nutrition) articulate in education in complex ways alternative ways to think about health and health education pedagogy. The overall theme of the book offers a perspective that the current approach to health education – promoting a fear of ill health, self-surveillance and individual responsibility – can become a form of health fascism, and we need to be cognisant of this potential and its consequences for young people. The book will be of key interest to academics and researchers exploring the political context of health education.