Bulger, Roger J.

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The Linacre QuarterlyVolume 43 | Number 2 Article 135-1-1976[Book Review of ] Poverty and Health: A SociologicalAnalysis, edited by John Kosa and Irving K. ZolaRoger J. BulgerFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnqPart of the Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, and the Medicine and Health SciencesCommonsRecommended CitationBulger, Roger J. (1976) "[Book Review of] Poverty and Health: A Sociological Analysis, edited by John Kosa and Irving K. Zola," TheLinacre Quarterly: Vol. 43: No. 2, Article 13.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol43/iss2/13ords raises some important issues, such as what data should be kept, how it should be stored and when it should be purged, but does not adequately discuss the issue of the subject (be it child, prisoner or mental patient) having direct access to his or her record and his ability to challenge and correct data therein. In the chapters that deal primarily with medical/psy-chological concepts strong state-ments are likely to be backed up by weak references. FOl" example, a statement alleging that "exten-sive research" had been done is supported by a news item in the Kansas City Times, and the peri-odical most frequently cited by the author is Psychology Today. All this is not to say that this could not be a helpful book for the intended audience. It does provide a useful starting point for considering issues of due process protections that should be built into any program of behavior modification, and the questions at the end of each chapter help to sharpen the issues. The author explores many issues of impor-tance to practitioners of behavior modification. He emphasizes the need for treatment and criticizes the present practices of custodial care and punishment. He raises important questions concerning when the use of behavior modifi-cation techniques are appropriate, and the need to protect the sub-jects of these techniques. His overall approach demonstrates a genuine concern for the humane treatment of prisoners, students and the mentally ill. Readers must, however, be warned that much of the legal analysis in the book is oversimpli-fied, and that it should be used only as a basic introduction to the complex problems of the legal aspects of behavior modification. George J. Annas, J.D., M.P.H. Boston University Law School Poverty and Health: A Sociological Analysis John Kosa and Irving K. Zola, editors Harvard Univ. Press, 79 Garden St. , Cambridge, Mass. 02138. 1975, XV + 456 p. , $15.00 This book was first published in 1969, was refurbished, amend-ed and pruned, in the production of a second edition, published in 1975. It is a multi-authored book which nevertheless comes across almost as if it were written by one May, 1976 person; the editors have succeed-ed in presenting a coherent, thor-ough and detailed exposition and analysis of the nature of poverty and its relationship to health and health care. Social aspects of physical and 119 mental healt h care are explored thoroughly, as are the relation-ships between social class and dis-ease prevention, help-seeking be-havior, treatment and rehabilita-tion of patients. Thorough and provocative chapters on medical education and community health clinics are presented in this new edition. In all this, much data is clearly offered to the interested reader. For those uninformed about the poverty and health in-terface, this book is must reading. Roger J . Bulger, M.D. National Academy of Sciences Population Education for Quality of Life Marie Mignon Mascarenhas Family W elfare Centre , Bangalore, India . 1974, XXIV + 547 p ., no price given. Dr. Mascarenhas has made an inspired attempt in this work to construct a theory of population dynamics in which demography, health, education and family are expressly examined in their spe-cial and specific relation to popu-lation change and to one another. At the concrete level the unique characteristics of India's popula-tion are used analytically to il-lustrate the practical features which a theory of population dy-namics necessarily must respect and include. Although the facts of India's environmental condi-tions are set down clearly and forthrightly, this is much more than an empirical exposition of those facts. The author is in pursuit of a grand inquiry involving a number of intricately related questions. Central ones include: How is eco-nomic development in Third World countries contingent upon intelligent pop u I a t ion policy adopted by national administra-tions, and equally importantly, 120 by married couples or prospective brides and grooms living within the boundaries of those countries and deeply conditioned by spe-cific cultures and traditions? How can individuals looking forward to marriage as well as husbands and wives be assisted to develop consciousness of the implications of their private reproductive ac-tivities on national socio-economic conditions? Can the human quali-ties of life be improved and ex-panded, i.e., enriched, for the re-productively active by aiding them to become deeply aware of the personal responsibility cou-ples shoulder when so involved not only for their own familial welfare but that of their immedi-ate community and ultimately the nation of which they are a part? And bravely Dr. Mascarenhas asks: How can the universal cen-tralization and primacy of the economic factor be moderated and reduced in power so as to ad-vance the flowering of conditions which will promote and protect Linacre Quarterly 

[Book Review of] \u3cem\u3ePoverty and Health: A Sociological Analysis\u3c/em\u3e, edited by John Kosa and Irving K. Zola

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[Book Review of] \u3cem\u3ePoverty and Health: A Sociological Analysis\u3c/em\u3e, edited by John Kosa and Irving K. Zola

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