Library Guides:  
Cultural Diversity in Health and Illness


Created by Kathie Lewis and Connie Fly

Reference Collection:
The Reference Collection is on the Main Floor of the COS Library

Sexuality and the World's Religions    R 291.178 S518

Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America     R 305.8 G151  also available online in the Gale Virtual Reference Library
    This two volume set provides information on the country of origin and the circumstances surrounding major immigration waves. The articles also cover acculturation, assimilation, family and community dynamics, language, religion, employment and economic traditions, politics and government. This set extends its scope to include the Native American Groups who were here before us.

American Immigrant Cultures: Builders of a Nation   R 305.8 A512
    This two volume set takes a culture and provides a brief overview of the country of origin, immigration history, the culture's assimilation in America, and social organization. Depending on the culture, this set may also cover Socioeconomic characteristics, Housing, Health care and Education, Family and Kinship, Interpersonal Relationships, Cultural Resilience and more. Each article includes a bibliography, that can lead you to some excellent sources.

WorldMark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life   R305.8 W927
   This four volume set provides information on ethnic groups in various countries. The three-five page articles provide a brief overview of the country and then goes on to cover a variety of topics. These topics include; Rites of Passage, Family Life, Cultural Heritage, Food, and more.

Encyclopedia of World Cultures    R 306.097 En56
    The strength and weakness of this 10 volume set is that it looks at the various small cultural groups throughout the world. It doesn't necessarily follow the current political boundaries that set countries apart. The set does contain some excellent information on traditions, family units, religion and gender roles.

Encyclopedia of Multiculturalism   R 306.4 En56
    This reference set discusses both ethnic groups and topics such as Health and Medicine.

Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups  R 973.04 H339
    An older, yet useful, one volume work arranged by ethnic groups.

Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands: How to Do Business in Sixty Countries    R 395.52 M882
     Cultural overviews, Behavior Styles, Protocol and Business Practices.

International Encyclopedia of Sexuality   R 306.7 In61
    Each chapter in this book is devoted to a particular country. Each of the 31 chapters includes an overview; comparisons of life cycles between men's and women's gender roles; infancy and early childhood, school years, young adulthood, and old age.

Refugee and Immigrant Health: A Handbook for Health Professionals    R362.1 K32

 You Eat What you Are: People   R 394.1 B248
    This book examines the history and traditions of meal patterns, eating customs, regional specialties, and distinctive methods of food preparation commonly used by more than 170 cultural groups around the world.

Death and the Afterlife - A Cultural Encyclopedia   R 398.03 T245
    This one volume set covers the funeral customs and views of death of various ethnic groups.

A Celebration of Customs and Rituals around the World    R 394.2 In53

Tobacco in History and Culture: An Encyclopedia    R 394.14 T628

You are Cordially Invited to Weddings: Dating and Love Customs of Cultures Worldwide  R 392.5 M834

Greenwood Encyclopedia of World Folklore and Folklife    R 398.03 G816

Encyclopedia of Native American Healing    R 615.8 L991

Encyclopedia of Native American Shamanism: Sacred Ceremonies of North America  R 615.8 L991

The Asian American Encyclopedia    R 973.0495 A832

The Latino Encyclopedia  R 973.0468 S345

Encyclopedia of the African-American Culture and History  R 973.En56

Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture   R 980.003 En56

Encyclopedia of Modern Middle East    R 956.003 En56

Books on Reserve

Do's and Taboos Around the World for Women in Business    910.202 D722

Gestures: The DO's and TABOOs of the Body Language Around the World   302.222 A972

American Indian Healing Arts    R615.88 K21

Online Reference Books:

  • Gale Virtual Reference Library - Gale provides access to 200 reference books. All the books are full-text and cover a wide variety of topics including art, science, literature and much more. All 200 titles can be searched simultaneously or individual titles may be selected. (Cost $20,000)

  • CredoReference - Credo provide full-text reference books on a wide variety of subjects (Cost $2500)

Online Book Catalog

Examples of subject headings and/or key words to use in searching:

Ethnology--United States Sex customs
Pluralism (Social Sciences) Food Habits
Minorities--United States Funeral rites and ceremonies
Ethnicity--United States Rites and ceremonies
Immigrants-- United States Marriage rites and customs
Death--social aspects Healing
Manners and customs Shamanism

The Library is purchasing a series of books published by Greenwood Press on the culture and customs of various countries. We currently have about 50 books in this series. To find a book in this series, use the title search in the COS Library Catalog and type in Culture and Customs of

 

Some Examples of other useful titles:
    Islamic Society in Practice  297.0962 F646
    Rationing Health Care in America   362.1 C561
    Ethnicity and Family Therapy  616.89 Et84

NetLibrary eBooks:

This is a set of over 6000 titles of books that are available only online. This database was purchased for COS students and you must create a password on campus before using this database off campus. Access to the NetLibrary is available from the COS Library Home Page. Use the same subject headings and key words that are suggested for the online catalog.

PERIODICALS INDEXES AND DATABASES: Located on the first floor of the library. Periodicals refer to information printed over a period of time such as magazines, journals and newspapers. These are excellent sources for current and authoritative information. To find an article on a specific topic, it is necessary to use an index.  Indexes are available in paper and electronic formats. The library subscribes to approximately 4 indexes, 250 periodicals and 11 newspapers.  For a list of which periodicals and indexes are available at COS click on the link: http://www.cos.edu/library/periodicalsalpha.htm .  For periodicals that the COS Library does not have available, there is also the possibility of an Inter-Library Loan from Fresno State University.

ALSO, through the Electronic Resources link, http://cos.edu/library/electronic.htm, on the COS Library’s Web Site, there are links to the electronic index subscription databases that the library makes available to COS students. Many of these indexes offer full-text articles, which means the entire article will be available even if the library doesn't subscribe to the periodical itself. If a student is off campus, passwords are necessary to access these databases. Passwords are available for COS students at the COS Library Information Desk or by calling the Library at (559) 737-6179.

 DATABASE FOR SCHOLARLY SOURCES:    (This database is not completely full-text.)

  • Infotrac - Infotrac provides articles from more than 500 scholarly, trade and general-interest publications, as well as references for The New York Times. The databases integrate core titles in every major academic concentration; area  and issue-specific journals; academic journals with application in the professions; and publications with national news coverage and commentary.  The time period it covers is current year to date + the previous 3 years. The optional backfile extends coverage as far back as 1980.  (Annual Cost $9,732)
    •  
    It works well when using a subject search. When entering a subject search, you can use broad terms, because the index will automatically help to narrow the search. This index is not completely full-text.

DATABASE FOR A COMBINATION OF SOURCE TYPES:

  • ProQuest - This mega-database contains 17 databases including: newspapers and magazine/journals (Annual Cost $19,000)
  • CountryWatch -  CountryWatch provides a political and economic survey of 191 countries.  It also has updates from United Press International, other news organizations, and the CountryWatch.com staff which cover the latest economic, corporate, and environmental information on a country by country basis as they occur.
     

World Wide Web Resources

COS Library's Web Site:

 Multicultural Health Issues
    Several excellent links to sites providing information on the health issues of various ethnic groups.

Cultural Diversity Guide for Health Professionals
    Although this site is directed to those providing health care in Australia, it has some excellent basic information about various ethnic groups and how they have handled health care in their own culture.

On the page entitled Class Guides there is a section:

 Books titles and web links are listed for each ethnic group.
    

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This page was created: 2/15/01 This page was last modified:09/09/08

For Questions and Comments, please mail to:  kathiel@cos.edu