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Failure to Thrive and Pediatric Undernutrition: A Transdisciplinary Approach,

University of California Davis Medical Center, Pediatric Endocrinology, 2516 Stockton Boulevard, Ticon II, Sacramento, CA 95817, E-mail: dmstyne{at}ucdavis.edu

edited by Peter Dawson and Daniel B Kessler, 1999, 620 pages, hardcover, $62.95. Paul H Brookes Publishing Co, Baltimore.

The editors of this book gathered a remarkable group of authors to provide a transdisciplinary approach offering historical, philosophical, and practical information for a wide range of individuals involved in treating and preventing pediatric undernutrition. The authors note that this "transdisciplinary approach" differs from a multidisciplinary approach (in which specialists provide their services rather independently) and from an interdisciplinary approach (in which team members interact within a formal structural framework but work within the boundaries of their own specialties). With a transdisciplinary approach, team members cross the boundaries of their own disciplines and interact with one another as well as with the parents of undernourished children to develop a "service delivery model" for intervention.

This book is suitable as an introductory text for pediatric undernutrition. It provides information on a wide range of disciplines, including psychology, nutrition, gastroenterology, endocrinology, and sociology, with appropriate attention to the politics of nutritional and developmental services. Those in the field will benefit from the historical timeline and changing perceptions of pediatric undernutrition that is provided.

The authors wrote many of the chapters as individual specialists rather than as a team and due to the size of the volume, the information provided is basic and in most cases brief. For the most part, the information provides an overview of specific conditions but does not provide comprehensive information for the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions. On the other hand, the chapters that provide a practical step-by-step approach to undernutrition succeed in providing a true transdisciplinary approach.

This volume is useful as a reference book for health care providers seeking salient details about specific cases or as a how-to manual for providers at many levels. Numerous forms for collecting information about the families and children being assessed are included, some of which are in Spanish. In addition, the book provides growth charts for weight and height, a glossary of terms, a discussion of the advantages and approaches to home visits, practical advice on measurement techniques, and instructions on how to effectively obtain governmental services. Such a compilation of data and forms in one place is not available elsewhere, and this in itself makes the book worthwhile.

This book is easy to read, its tables are well organized and consistent in structure, and its index accurate and useful. I recommend this volume for those involved in the treatment and prevention of pediatric undernutrition.

This Article Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Styne, D. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Styne, D. Agricola Articles by Styne, D.