From public health to history and anthropology, African historian Julie Livingston takes an innovative stance on improving conditions for African patients and clinical staff, particularly those dealing with cancer and issues of pain and palliation. With Fulbright-Hays and Rutgers University fellowships, Livingston has built her body of work on over a decade of research, mainly in Botswana, exploring questions of disability, chronic illness, aging,...

"I knew about drunk, but did not know anything about living sober. I hadn't really been sober for fifteen years. It wasn't enough that I stopped drinking. I had to learn how to live." The journey from alcoholic insanity to sobriety, and the pivotal role of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) in navigating that transition, is the focus of this book. It offers perspectives on how and why AA is the most effective alcoholism treatment program in the world. Through...

An alarming number of people are knowingly or otherwise abusing over the counter pain medications. Could there be another way?

An 86-year-old woman with osteoarthritis...a young man with severe back pain brought on by heavy lifting...a middle-aged woman with rheumatoid arthritis and a car-crash injury worsened by a sexual attack...all three are featured in this film's alternative medicine case studies. Shot at Boston's Lemuel Shattuck Hospital when a pilot program focusing on chronic pain was in full swing, the documentary follows health care professionals using conventional...

Wind, water, and fire-three essential elements of the body, according to practitioners of India's ancient Siddha medical tradition. This program follows a young Indian woman as she undergoes treatment by a Siddha doctor for premature arthritis. Sidetracked at first by an ineffective local healer and unmoved by subsequent warnings of a mitral valve defect, Alamelu enters into an intensive 40-day Siddha regimen at a free hospital in Madras. Herbal medicines,...

Whether they know it or not, drug addicts must eventually face a choice: detox, dysfunction, or death. What is life really like for young abusers trying to leave their drug habits behind? In this program, teenagers speak out about the devastating and long-lasting emotional effects that substance abuse has had on their lives. Dramatizations combined with the harsh facts of addiction underscore the dangers of drug abuse.

A patient's ability to manage and mitigate pain is one of the most important indicators of his or her quality of life. Adopting the American Pain Society's view that pain is a vital sign much like pulse or blood pressure, this program provides nurses and health care assistants with an overview of recent developments in the field of pain management and an improved understanding of the anatomy and physiology of pain. Viewers learn about the physiology...

This clinical handbook brings together leading international experts on eating disorders to describe the most effective treatments and how to implement them. Coverage encompasses psychosocial, family-based, medical, and nutritional therapies for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder, and other eating disorders and disturbances. Especially noteworthy are "mini-manuals" that present the nuts and bolts of 11 of the treatment approaches,...

He's a well-established lecturer and general practitioner in the United Kingdom, but Dr. Patrick Pietroni takes an approach that is far from conventional. As founder of the British Holistic Medical Association, Pietroni has incorporated a wide range of alternative disciplines into his practice and teaching, and this film captures his fascinating working life on camera. Viewers are given a fly-on-the-wall look at role-playing exercises and discussion...