Disability in Local and Global Worlds

Ingstad B, Whyte SR, eds. Berkeley, CA 94704, University of California Press, 2007, paperback, 324 pp, illus, ISBN: 978-0-520-24617-1, $22.95.

The purpose of this book is to present a view of disabilities all over the world; from developed

countries, such as Japan and Israel, to underdeveloped or developing countries, such as Uganda and India. This book is divided into 2 parts. Part I focuses on living and coping with disabilities in a town or village and on what happens when a group of people with disabilities hold an event, such as the implications of their presence on the city or town, as in the case of the Deaf Word Games held in Rome. Part 2 discusses policy making and technology advancements and their availability across different countries.

Disabilities mentioned throughout the book include infertility, deafness, and birth deformities, as well as several others. For instance, circumcision of women in Somalia who have since immigrated to London is discussed, demonstrating how a common practice in the country of origin becomes a disability in a new home country. Other chapter topics include the practice of Israeli parents rejecting their newborns based on genetic anomalies, or the instruction of a person with a kidney transplant who lives in a Brazilian village where native Indians believe that recipients of organs will adopt the personality of the donor. The role of traditional Indian healers and their impact on the healing process are analyzed.

On the subject of policy making, 2 chapters are of particular interest. Chapter 8 discusses how China's government determines who has a disability and how this practice originated. Chapter 10 discusses how Japan's modern-day health care plan for the care of elders is founded on traditional, cultural values.

The method of data collection and analysis for each topic in this book is based on ethnographic research. It is well written and enjoyable to read. The book has a few illustrations that help the reader visualize the context of a disability in the country being explained; however, more pictures of the settings and people addressed would have been helpful.

This book will be an excellent reference for physical therapy faculty who teach the concepts of disability and handicap, international health, and cultural competence, as well as for faculty and graduate students on the topic of ethnographic research. It will be very useful for the physical therapists working with multicultural populations.

[DOI: 10.2522/ptj.2008.88.9.1093]

AL Mulero-Portela, PT, is Associate Professor at the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico.