Drug Use and Misuse: A Community Health Perspective

Reviewed by Christopher Roman, Adjunct Professor, Butler University on 3/3/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The book covers an appropriate amount of content for a general undergraduate audience.

Content Accuracy rating: 2

Some chapters are very thorough and well-written. The chapter on social determinants of health is a particularly strong example. Other chapters have errors, oversimplifications, or omissions that leave the reader poorly informed. This is a particular issue with the pharmacology of drugs and related content.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

While data on drug use and misuse will evolve, the general trends are unlikely to change significantly in the next several years. Updates of this sort can be easily and quickly done.

Clarity rating: 3

The book is written in very accessible language. While this is a strength, it also contributes to some of the oversimplifications discussed previously.

Consistency rating: 3

In general, the text is internally consistent. One glaring exception to this, however, was that the use of the word "drug" was given broad context in the opening chapter, but then (without explanation) the text switched to mainly using "drug" to mean drug of abuse. Since this was the central topic of the book, this was problematic.

Modularity rating: 5

Chapter selections are logical and each one can be consumed in a single sitting.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

In general, it flowed well. A couple chapters could be resequenced to introduce the drugs and addiction before discussing social determinants...but these are fairly minor issues.

Interface rating: 5

Numerous links to external sites. The ones that I tested worked well.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

A few minor errors but none that detracted significantly from the text.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Appropriately contextualizes addiction in the social and health contexts that are relevant. Discusses racial and socioeconomic data in a sensitive way.

Reviewed by mary gable, instructor, Tidewater Community College on 1/31/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The book provided excellent information and additional resources to identify drugs, legal and illegal, their effects on the body and brain and addictive tendencies associated with each. The demographics of the drug user and the effects the particular drug has on the local community is also explored.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I found no errors in the text.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The drugs that are explored in the text seem relevant and current. The book is excellent it the way it incorporates videos, slides, charts, and real-life stories in addition to regular assessments throughout. I would think one would need to validate all of the online links to make sure they stay current, but it made for a very engaging study experience.

Clarity rating: 5

I felt the book defined well the terminology that was associated with each chapter. I did not find any places where I felt unusual jargon or undefined terms were mentioned. Links were provided so that definitions could be further studied.

Consistency rating: 5

The book was consistent with the terminology used throughout all of the chapters - defining terms as needed. Also, the framework for the course was consistent for all chapters and included important sections such as "critical thinking", "check your knowledge", "supplemental resources", and "references" for each chapter.

Modularity rating: 5

The book was very well organized into chapters that were logically presented. It would be easy to consume this information in smaller chunks using the individual chapter design. Pertinent information for the topic of the chapter is covered.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

I liked the organization of this book. Not only were the chapters presented logically, but they all included embedded online explanations of different types (which loaded in a separate tab so as not to disrupt the reading). These links included videos, charts, links to laws, information from the Centers for Disease Control (supporting different learning styles), several different types of assessments, an answer key, supplemental resources, and references within each chapter. This organized fashion continued throughout all chapters of the book.

Interface rating: 5

The book included many images - all clear. The additional resources loaded in a separate tab so that the place for the reader in the book was not lost. The book was made available as a .pdf document that fully took advantage of Adobe's ability to navigate and included bookmarks for each pertinent place in the document.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I found no grammatical errors in the text.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The text discusses things like race and poverty as it relates to drug use. This information was presented in a matter-of-fact way that would, hopefully, not be offensive to a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.

I learned a lot and enjoyed the experience of this book. I think it would make a truly excellent textbook for students. The embedded online resources made for a very engaging reading experience. It was accurate, complete, well-designed into chapters, and included a wide variety of sources.