The Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine is not the first of its kind, but it is certainly the most comprehensive, and the most current. Intended to be a complete guide to the many aspects of behavioural medicine, the encyclopedia touches on a vast array of areas (some 2,700 topics) that apply to behavioural medicine. Some of the topics covered are medications, psychological and psychiatric issues, medical and psychological practices, alternative medicines and the medical conditions and illnesses that behavioural medicine attempts to address. Also covered are biographical details of prominent and historical people in the field including their innovations and writing.
The information found in this encyclopedia is accurate and well cited. Concurrent and in agreement with other scholarly texts that cover the same topics, there were no significant differences between the information in other works and that presented in the encyclopedia. The encyclopedia has, however, been updated and contains much added information to match the latest research. While the articles aren't especially lengthy, they do cover the most salient points of each topic, and they present a wealth of other reading that would leave even the most seasoned professional better informed.
Arranged in simple alphabetical order by topic, the encyclopedia is easy to access, and with a thorough index, finding information about a specific topic is fast and orderly. That being said, the online version, as here reviewed, is not as simple to navigate as the print version. On logon the user is confronted with 136 pages of listings that can be somewhat intimidating to sort. If the user navigates to page 136, they can access the back matter which contains an index of all the topics covered. However, this index is only clickable when opened using an Adobe plugin in a modern browser. Users reading the encyclopedia on Internet Explorer 8 or older, or on a system that opens PDF files in a separate Adobe reader window, will not be able to click on listings in the index, and will have to search for or navigate blindly to the topic they want to view. Using Google Chrome or Firefox which open PDF files in a browser window, the index items and any cross-references can be clicked to bring one directly to the topic used. Once the topic has been located, the user can choose Download PDF or View Reference Work Entry. For ease of navigation users should choose View Reference Work Entry even though Download PDF is listed first. Downloading the PDF will take the user to a large PDF file that contains all the topics under a single letter. The PDF for topics starting with A is 171 pages long, but can be navigated easily enough by the bookmarks bar on the left. Unfortunately, the cross-references, like the index, are not clickable in Adobe Reader, and so someone using the encyclopedia should stick to a newer browser if possible.
Articles in the encyclopedia range in length and level of detail, with topics more directly related to practice getting more space, and peripheral topics and definitions getting more basic, but no less useful entries. All of the information presented is taken from the most current research in the field, and there is presently no more up-to-date source. All of the articles are heavily cited, with the bulk of citations coming from articles published within the last five years. As a further plus, any citations taken from PubMed are cross linked in the encyclopedia and can be clicked on to go directly to the PubMed full text article for immediate further reading.
There can be little doubt of the authority of the editors of the encyclopedia. Their credentials are impeccable. From the EBM, About the Editors … “Marc D. Gellman [editor in chief] is a Research Associate Professor of Psychology and the Associate Director of the Division of Health Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Florida, USA. He is also Associate Director of the Behavioral Medicine Research Center and Associate Director of the Behavioral Medicine Training Program located at the Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami … Since 1986, he has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health, primarily in the area of cardiovascular behavioral medicine”. According to this biography, he has published in a variety of journals including: Psychosomatic Medicine, Health Psychology, Annals of Behavioral Medicine, Psychophysiology, and others. He also served on the editorial board of the Sage Publications scientific book series Behavioral Medicine and Health Psychology from 1997 to 2004 with encyclopedia co-editor J. Rick Turner. Dr Turner, following a postdoctoral fellowship, moved to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to work in the laboratory of the late Paul Obrist and Kathleen Light. His work in the field of cardiovascular behavioral medicine resulted in the publication of 50 peer-reviewed articles and two international research awards. Many of the contributing editors are also pioneers in their fields, and a search of any of their names will reveal extensive publication and citation.
At nearly 2,200 pages, and with 2,700 entries, the Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine is a far more comprehensive work than any other in the field. For $1,700 it is newer, and contains far more information than other comparable resources such as the Encyclopedia of Behavioral Neuroscience (Koob et al., 2010) priced at $1,200 or the Encyclopedia of Health & Behavior (Anderson, 2004) priced at $387. The Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine is excellent value for the money and could easily replace half a dozen textbooks as a primary quick reference for any practitioner or PhD student in the field.
