Toward Total Wellness: Women in the Caribbean, 1994. $15.00
Adams, Sue (ed.)
This bibliography of selected periodical articles in WAND's Documentation Centre was published by Women and Development Unit, School of Continuing Studies, University of the West Indies, Pinelands, St. Michael, Barbados.
WAND is a regional agency concerned with promoting and supporting programs for women in the Caribbean. The Documentation Centre is a source of information for researchers, teachers, students and activists, as well as all persons with an interest in topics related to gender, the empowerment of women and alternative development strategies.
The concept of "total wellness" expands on the World Health Organization's definition of health by placing gender issues into the more conventional medical definition.
The term was adopted by WAND via the National Black Women's Health Project and the Boston Women's Health Collective, USA, where it originated. The concept is integral to the theme of women's empowerment and methodologies that enhance self-esteem in the context of community self-reliance. There is a political dimension to the concept, relating most centrally to the notion of women's empowerment through taking charge of their own health, whether it be mental, spiritual, physical or emotional. The concept encompasses a range of issues impinging on overall well being, such as diet, environment, economic security, reproductive health and so on. Also included in this bibliography are poems and biographical pieces, which are appropriate to this holistic reference to health.