Many alternative health practices are gaining popularity in traditional medical centers throughout the country. However, social workers and allied health professionals are rarely educated in these practices. The collaborative pilot research project discussed in this article involved community health providers and a state university school of social work. The project, conducted in rural health clinics, introduced an approach to the use of skillful, safe, and appropriate use of touch synthesized with an awareness of the breath for giver and receiver of the "15-Minute Stressout Program" to a group of Mexican Americans diagnosed with diabetes and their families. This alternative health practice holds promise for reducing stress, promotng health and well-being, and building relationships and warrants further study.

This article, "Alternative Health Practices in Ethnically Diverse Rural Areas: A Collaborative Research Project," was first published in _Health & Social Work_, v22, May 1997 and later published in _Multicultural Issues in Social Work - Practice and Research_, Ch 21, pp.265-273, NASW Press, 1990. The authors of this research project are: Gerald W. Vest, John Ronnau, Belinda R. Lopez, and Gloria Gonzales.

Reviews of this article can be viewed on the "Compendium of Best Practices," website: http://www.hcfa.gov/quality/3r5.htm#introduction