scope:

Health in the Americas, 2002 Edition is indisputably a valuable reference tool for health authorities, public health and medical professionals, students, social researchers and all others interested in health in human development issues, including the public at large. This edition consists of two volumes and covers the period 1997-2000. Volume I describes the health situation from a regional perspective and contains a series of chapters that identify and analyze the most important general, demographic, and mortality trends of the period; major determinants of health as seen from a variety of political, social, economic, and financial standpoints; principal trends and characteristics of the ongoing health sector reform movement; the role of individuals and communities in promoting health; the association between the physical environment and human living conditions; principal diseases and health problems; the extent of human and technological resources available to address health issues today; and the status and achievements of international and bilateral cooperation within the context of the growing tendency toward trade globalization. Volume II consists of a breakdown of these same topics by country and covers the 45 nations and territories of the Americas. Other features new to this edition include a discussion of the search for health inequities and how we might reduce them, as well as a greater emphasis on the importance of disaggregating demographic information by sex and incorporating a gender perspective in its analysis. See also: Health and Welfare for families in the 21st Century.