Families and Health is the first textbook to present an overview of the research on the relationship between families and health, placing an emphasis on common family patterns related to health and illness and interactions between families and the health care system.

The volume includes discussions of family experiences with health promotion and risk reduction, vulnerability and illness onset, illness appraisal, acute response and adaptation to illness. Separate chapters address each of these situations in relation to such areas as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and bereavement.