Product Description: This state-of-the-art book examines the effect of social relationships on physical health. It surveys and assesses the research that shows not only that supportive relationships protect us from a multitude of mental health problems but also that the absence of supportive relationships increases the risk of dying from various diseases...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: This is the first volume on social support from a nursing perspective. The author documents nursing's contribution to the field and analyzes current conceptual controversies. She emphasizes the necessity for a social support based framework and proposes a psychosocial model of health care delivery that incorporates environment, nursing and health and that regards patients as partners, families as allies...read more