-Medicine is increasingly embracing a health promotion rather than disease model. As associates with the Spirituality and Health Institute at Santa Clara U., Plante and Thoreson, introduce 14 chapters examining how the formerly little-researched psychosocial factor of spirituality/religion relates to health in general and to specific patient populations. Social cognitive theory, to which the contributions of preface writer Albert Bandura Stanford U.) are well-known, is used to explain the demonstrated health effects of such practices as meditation and holy name repetition. Case examples treat ethical pitfalls. —SciTech Book News

-This book could serve very effectively as a brief reference handbook or as an introductory textbook for the emerging field of spirituality and health--now a component in the curriculum of many schools of nursing, medicine, and other health-related professions, as well as in some colleges of liberal arts or education. The book is a particularly well-integrated collection of short reports on the current state of the field. It covers concepts and assessment instruments typically used in spirituality-and-health research. It also covers basic techniques for self-management and personal development (such as prayer and meditation) that long have been part of spiritual traditions, and increasingly are recognized as having relevance for health maintenance too. The book concludes with consideration of general ethical issues and with problems characteristic of specific population groups, e.g., adolescents, the elderly, HIV/AIDS sufferers, and cancer patients. Contributors treat these issues with discernment, respect, and appropriate expertise....Recommended. All levels. —Choice