Health care policy and proposals for national health care reform have become some of the most contentious political issues of the decade. Garland Publishing announces a new series addressing the most significant issues in the area of health care policy and the business of health care in the United States. books in this multidisciplinary series will include studies of health care practice, the health care business, the implications of multicultural perspectives on health care for public policy, the impact of insurance on health care, and debates over national health care policy, including health care reform. This collection of timely works will offer significant scholarly perspectives on one of the most important issues in public policy. A multidisciplinary approach Policy makers are calling for increased attention to community health, health promotion and disease prevention, community-based and culturally competent initiatives, and psychosocial dimensions of health and disease to meet public health needs in the next century. This will require a multidisciplinary, macro approach to health services research. Healing the Social Body takes such an approach, outlining how the disintegration of community structures and the fragmentation of society leads to disease on both the individual and societal levels, and then exploring ways in which the enhancement of community cohesion can be a healing force. The author draws on field research conducted in three sites as well as various disciplines to show how greater social support and community integration can contribute to healing. How to stop community disintegration The book begins with an analysis of how anthropological and folklifetheories can be applied to the problem of community disintegration. Community empowerment, community-based health promotion initiatives, and the creation of intentional communities can all help to address some of the most urgent public health problems facing us today. The book analyzes three case studies as examples of community strengthening initiative in Denmark, Tennessee, and Philadelphia.