This collection of essays focuses on the impact of health policy on black Americans by examining the relation between public policy and the distribution of health needs and effects. The book includes an introduction by David P. Willis and is divided into seven sections. Section I, "Who Are Black Americans?" includes the following chapters: (1) "The Quality of Life for Black Americans Twenty Years after the Civil Rights Revolution" (Reynolds Farley); (2) "Black Demographic Trends in the 1980s" (William P. O'Hare); and (3) "Conceptual and Methodological Issues in the Use of Race as a Variable: Policy Implications" (Doris Y. Wilkinson and Gary King). Section II, "Mortality and Morbidity of Black Americans," includes the following chapters: (1) "Black-White Differences in Health Status: Methods or Substance?" (Ronald M. Andersen and others); (2) "History of Black Mortality and Health before 1940" (Douglas C. Ewbank); and (3) "Health Differentials between Blacks and Whites: Recent Trends in Mortality and Morbidity" (Kenneth G. Manton and others). Section III, "From Universal Entitlements to Employment-based Entitlements," includes the following chapters: (1) "Public versus Employment-related Health Insurance: Experience and Implications for Black and Nonblack Americans" (Stephen H. Long); and (2) "Health Care for Black Americans: The Public Sector Role" (Karen Davis and others). Section IV, "Implications of Selected Policy Directions," includes the following chapters: (1) "Constraining the Supply of Physicians: Effects on Black Physicians" (Ruth S. Hanft and Catherine C. White); (2) "Paying the Price: Medical Care, Minorities, and the Newly Competitive Health Care System" (Mark Schlesinger); (3) "Reduction of Hypertension-associated Heart Disease and Stroke among Black Americans: Past Experience and New Perspectives on Targeting Resources" (Daniel D. Savage and others); (4) "Health Policy: Gaps in Access, Delivery, and Utilization of the Pap Smear in the United States" (Claudia Baquet and Knut Ringen); and (5) "Improving the Mental Health of Black Americans: Lessons from the Community Mental Health Movement" (Harold W. Neighbors). Section V, "Groups at Special Risk," includes the following chapters: (1) "Race Differences in Teenage Sexuality, Pregnancy, and Adolescent Childbearing" (Frank F. Furstenberg, Jr.); (2) "Trends in Racial Inequality and Exposure to Work-related Hazards, 1968-1986" (James C. Robinson); and (3) "The Health, Physical Functioning, and Informal Supports of the Black Elderly" (Rose C. Gibson and James S. Jackson). Section VI, "Racial Dimensions of AIDS: Attitudes and Policies," contains a chapter entitled "The AIDS Epidemic among Blacks and Hispanics" (Samuel R. Friedman and others). Section VII, "Conclusion," contains a chapter entitled "Race in the Health of America" (S. M. Miller). Each chapter includes a list of references and most chapters include statistical data in tables and charts. (AF)