Fluid population movement, widely diverse sociocultural and economic demographics, and a rapidly expanding population have rendered the border region of the United States and Mexico one of the most volatile settings for health problems in the world. Written and edited by public health researchers, U.S.-MEXICO BORDER HEALTH offers a broad range of studies involving health care and health promotion on the United States-Mexico border. Part I examines how the cultural values of the border population influence their responses to health messages to participate in health programs. In Part II, the complexity of the health issues faced by the border region are explored through discussions of public health programs addressing tobacco and alcohol advertising, cross-border attempts to control tuberculosis, community mobilization to prevent the spread of HIV, and programs to promote contraception. Part III presents three models of health promotion that have been adopted in the border context, and Part IV focuses on the centrality of community in health promotion efforts on the border. The book concludes with a review of health care issues involving migrant and seasonal farm workers.

As a course reader or a general update on border health issues and health promotion efforts, U.S.-MEXICO BORDER HEALTH is intended tp provoke discussion and further research concerning health care in this important region.

J. GERARD POWER is a Senior Research Analyst with Frank N. Magid Associates Inc., New York City. He has lived and worked in Mexico and on the U.S.-Mexico border. His research interests include adolescent health promotion, media and identity, and the use of counterstereotypes to reduce prejudice. His work has been published in the Journal of Health Communication, Communication Research, and Journal of Communication Inquiry, and Human Communication Research.

THERESA BYRD is Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Houston School of Public Health, El Paso campus. She has spent most of her career working with U.S.-Mexico border and migrant populations, first in Arizona and then in California, Texas, and Chihuahua. Her research interests include border health issues, maternal and child health, community organizing, and perceptions of risk.

U.S.-MEXICO BORDER HEALTH: Issues for Regional and Migrant Populations (1998) is published by SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks, California 91320. [hardcover ISBN 0-7619-0895-1, paperback ISBN 0-7619-0896-X]