Book Review
The Ethnic Health Handbook: A Factfile for Health Care Professionals
Ghada Karmi
ISBN: 978-0-632040421; 1996; 132 pages; Blackwell Science;
Debra Jackson
Professor, Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), Broadway NSW
As indicated by the title, this book aims to provide health care professionals with information pertaining to various minority groups. The book is organised into three parts. Part one, entitled 'The Ethnic Minority Population of Great Britain', presents some statistical and demographical information concerning patterns of ethnic settlement in Great Britain. This part of the book also discusses 'ethnic monitoring' which, the author explains, has been a mandatory Department of Health requirement for in-patients in England since April 1995.
Part two of the book focuses on 5 religions, specifically Buddism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism. A concise and informative introductory paragraph outlines the basic philosophy of each religion. A useful glossary of religious terms is provided. Further information is presented for each of the five religions, under headings such as religious obligations, religious practices, diet, birth, death rites and medical restrictions. Part three uses very similar headings to present basic information on 'Ethnic Groups'. In all, information pertaining to twenty-one ethnic groups is provided. Size of population and the perceived existence of ethnospecific health practices were the major criteria for inclusion in this section. Following discussion of each religious and ethnic group, contact details of relevant (British) organisations are given. Throughout the book, spare pages are provided in which the reader can make notes and record their own local contacts.
From my perspective, the major drawback with this book is ideological, and lies with using a person's ethnicity as their major distinguishing feature and as a means of categorisation. This perspective ultimately renders the book reductionist in approach. Also problematic is that information is simplified to a point that it is in danger of becoming meaningless. To be fair, the author describes the book as a 'quick reference for the most important facts relating to each group' (p.vi) and acknowledges that there is some danger that it may foster stereotyping of minority groups. The book proclaims itself a 'fact' file, however although a bibliography is included, the information provided is not supported by citations in the text.
This book is produced for British readers and meets a need of the British health system. Although useful resource lists are provided, all contacts are British. The 'ethnic' groups that are included, while comprising a substantial population in Britain, may not necessarily be frequently encountered in Australia. Conversely, groups that comprise substantive populations in Australia are not included in this book. While possibly of some limited use in a 'crisis' situation, the information presented in this book is superficial and does not facilitate anything more than a cursory awareness of the health beliefs and practises of a small collection of ethnic and religious minority groups. All these factors combine to give this book very limited application within an Australian context.
eContent Home
