Features/Harvard University Press Family Health Guides


This new series offers short, accessible books about medical conditions that affect the entire family. In addition to discussing evaluation and treatment, the books emphasize the impact of a given diagnosis and prognosis on family life: on parent-child, sibling, and spouse relationships, everyday routines, family dynamics, and the family’s overall emotional and financial health.
NEW!	READ AN EXCERPT In 2006, it was estimated that approximately 11,000 Americans sustained traumatic spinal-cord injuries (SCI) each year; that number is much higher now with injured soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Physiatrist Alpert has compiled a timely and basic guide for SCI patients and their families, covering a multitude of important issues from basic spine anatomy, how injuries occur, and the impact of the injury's location to the first days after an injury, the emotional turmoil of the patient and family, and adjusting to work or school. Relationship issues, including dating, sex, fertility and pregnancy, and parenting, are painted in reassuring terms. Children with spinal cord injuries garner a separate chapter, as do the medical complications and challenges of SCI. This excellent overview with an emphasis on the physical effects of SCI will be invaluable to a growing, currently underserved audience. --Janet M. Schneider, Library Journal (starred review) Michelle J. Alpert, M.D., is Director of Rehabilitation Medicine, Hebrew Rehabilitation Center, and Clinical Instructor in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School. She was the founder and first director of the Spinal Cord Injury Program at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. Saul Wisnia is Senior Publications Editor/Writer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the author of numerous books.

Julie Silver reviews the causes and characteristics of chronic pain and explores its impact on individual family relationships and on the extended family, covering such issues as employment, parenting, childbearing and inheritance, and emotional health. Silver treats aspects of chronic pain not covered in a typical office visit: how men and women differ in their experience of chronic pain, the effect of chronic pain on a toddler's behavior or an older child's performance in school, the risks of dependence on and addiction to pain medications, and practical ways for relatives beyond the immediate family circle to offer help and support to the person in pain. Table of Contents Excerpt: What Is Chronic Pain? Excerpt: Chronic Pain in Children Excerpt: Effect on the Couple Excerpt: Chronic Pain Resources Index Read reviews Buy this book	Joel Stein shows the many faces of stroke and the people it strikes. To the family just beginning to cope with the aftermath of a stroke, the diagnostic tests, drug regimens, rehabilitation strategies, and varied prognoses can be completely bewildering. Because stroke can affect memory, speech, and movement, the impact on everyday routines and close relationships can be especially intense. Stein has produced a book that enables general readers and nonphysicians working with stroke survivors to make sense of the confusing variety of diagnoses and treatment options, and goes on to explore challenges the recovering stroke patient and the recovering family will face during a long recuperation with an uncertain outcome. Table of Contents Introduction Excerpt: Finding the Cause of a Stroke Excerpt: Impact on Marriage and Relationships Excerpt: Nontraditional Treatments Excerpt: Recovery and Rehabilitation Index Read reviews Buy this book	Family members with little understanding of the disease often find themselves struggling to help their loved one navigate the complexities of the health care system. Patients wonder, Which treatments are best for me? Will I be able to live on my own? Should I join a drug trial? In this straightforward, compassionate guide, Nutan Sharma and Elaine Richman address these concerns and more. They provide a thorough review of the etiology, diagnosis, and current treatment of Parkinson's, with special consideration given to the effect on family dynamics and routines--including the often neglected topics of long-term care and sexual function. The authors also review the pros and cons of various alternative therapies. Table of Contents Introduction Excerpt: Communicating with Your Treatment Team Excerpt: The Diagnosis Excerpt: Resources Read reviews Buy this book
Julie K. Silver, M.D., is Medical Director of the Outpatient Center at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School. She is the author of Post-Polio Syndrome: A Guide for Polio Survivors and Their Families.	Joel Stein, M.D., is Chief Medical Officer and Medical Director, Stroke Program, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. He is also Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School.	Nutan Sharma, M.D., is an Assistant in Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Associate Neurologist, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Instructor, Harvard Medical School. Elaine Richman, Ph.D., is President of Richman Associates, LLC, in Baltimore, Maryland.
This book is meant to educate, but it should not be used as a substitute for personal medical advice. Readers should consult their physicians for specific information concerning their individual medical conditions. The author has done his/her best to ensure that the information presented here is accurate up to the time of publication. However, as research and development are ongoing, it is possible that new findings may supersede some of the data presented here. This book contains references to actual cases the author has encountered. However, names and other identifying characteristics have been changed to protect the privacy of those involved. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Harvard University Press was aware of a trademark claim, then the designations have been printed in initial capital letters (for example, Valium).