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Key Concepts in Medical Sociology
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Key Concepts in Medical Sociology

Third Edition (Revised and Updated Edition)
Edited by:


January 2022 | 432 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd

How do we understand health in relation to society? What role do social processes, structures and culture play in shaping our experiences of health and illness? How do we understand medicine and healthcare within a sociological framework?

Drawing on international literature and examples, this new edition of Key Concepts in Medical Sociology:

·        Systematically explains the concepts that have preoccupied medical sociology from its inception, and which have shaped the field as it exists today.

·        Includes new entries, such as pandemics and epidemics, the environment, intersectionality, pharmaceuticalization, medical tourism and sexuality.

·        Begins each entry with a definition of the concept then examines its origins, development, strengths and weaknesses, and concludes with suggested further reading for independent learning. 

Key Concepts in Medical Sociology is essential reading for students in medical sociology as well as those undertaking professional training in health-related disciplines.

 
 

 



 
 
Introduction
 
PART 1: SOCIAL PATTERNING OF HEALTH
Robert Dingwall
Pandemics and Epidemics
Graham Scambler
Social Class
Ellen Annandale
Gender
Hannah Bradby
Ethnicity
Sue Scott
Sexuality
Anuj Kapilashrami
Intersectionality
Katherine L. Frohlich, Julie Vallée, Sally Macintyre & Anne Ellaway
Place
Sara MacBride-Stewart
Environment
Graham Scambler
Material and Cultural Factors
Antonia Bifulco
Psychosocial Factors
Antonia Bifulco
Life Events
Paul Higgs
Ageing and the Lifecourse
Judith Green & Kirsten Bell
Neoliberalism
Orla McDonnell
Social Capital
 
PART 2: EXPERIENCE OF HEATH AND ILLNESS
Jonathan Gabe
Medicalization
Jonathan Gabe
Pharmaceuticalization
Lee F. Monaghan
Illness and Health Behaviours
Lee F. Monaghan & Simon J. Williams
Stigma
Simon J. Williams & Lee F. Monaghan
Embodiment
Gillian Bendelow & Iain Wilkinson
Emotions
Lee F. Monaghan & Mike Bury
Chronic Illness
Janice McLaughlin
Disability
Lee F. Monaghan & Mike Bury
Illness Narratives
Jonathan Gabe
Risk
Lee F. Monaghan & Mike Bury
The Sick Role
Alison Pilnick
Practitioner–Client Relationships
Mary Boulton
Quality of Life
Simon J. Williams
Sleep
Gitte H. Koksvik & David Clark
Death and Dying
 
PART 3: HEALTH, KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE
Lee F. Monaghan & Mike Bury
The Medical Model
Orla McDonnell
Social Constructionism
Gareth H. Williams, Eva Elliott & Jennie Popay
Lay Knowledge
Neil Lunt
Medical Tourism
Jane Sandall, Lee F. Monaghan & Jonathan Gabe
Reproduction
Alex Faulkner
Medical Technologies
Deborah Lupton
Digital Health
Rebecca Dimond, Heather Strange & Jacqueline Hughes
Geneticization
Gabrielle Samuel & Bobbie Farsides
Bioethics
Sarah Nettleton
Surveillance and Health Promotion
 
PART 4: HEALTH WORK AND THE DIVISION OF LABOUR
Jonathan Gabe & Mary Ann Elston
Medical Autonomy, Dominance and Decline
Jonathan Gabe
Trust in Medicine
Ivy Lynn Bourgeault
Professions Allied to Medicine
Abbey Hyde & Orla McDonnell
Nursing and Midwifery as Occupations
Catherine Theodosius
Social Divisions in Formal Healthcare
Ivy Lynn Bourgeault
Health Professional Migration and Integration
Sarah Cant
Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Catherine Theodosius
Emotional Labour
Sue Hollinrake
Informal Care
 
PART 5: HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATION AND POLICY
Per Måseide
Hospitals and Healthcare Organizations
Jonathan Gabe
Privatization
Jonathan Gabe
Managerialism
Jonathan Gabe
Consumerism
Gareth H. Williams, Patrick Brown, Eva Elliott & Jennie Popay
Citizenship and Health
Nick Crossley
Social Movements and Health
Jonathan Gabe
Medicines Regulation
Nicholas Mays
Evaluation
Jonathan Gabe
Malpractice

This book has and will continue to be essential introductory reading for students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels in the social and health sciences and those in professional training who have an interest in the sociology of health and illness. It is comprehensive in its scope addressing a broad range of key sociological concepts which relate to the analysis of health, illness and health policy. This third edition contains accessible, updated entries on many of the concepts addressed in previous editions but also introduces much needed analysis of salient concepts such as on pandemics and epidemics, sexuality, intersectionality, the environment, medical tourism and digital health. 

 

Professor Michael Calnan
Professor of Medical Sociology, University of Kent, UK

This impressive scholarly collection of key ideas in the sociology of health and medicine is essential reading for health and medical students; researchers and policy makers. It is particularly pertinent as we contemplate health and healthcare since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Professor Karen Willis
Victoria University

This third edition of the popular and comprehensive concept-based examination of the field of medical sociology is an excellent addition to the literature. It effectively updates the ‘state of play’ in that sub discipline as well as successfully incorporating new developments including the COVID pandemic, digital health, consumerism, and environmentalism. 

Professor Evan Willis
La Trobe University

This new edition of a favourite companion offers a veritable bounty of ideas for fostering knowledge about health and illness. Organised as a collection of multiple small chapters, each focusing on a specific concept and relevant subject matter; the editors have resisted the contemporary temptation to focus on culture and agency, offering many explorations of these as well as the material and structural shaping of health and illness. Comprehensive, beautifully written and well organised, the volume invites the reader into the world of health sociology, yet draws from many disciplines to offer sociological perspectives that will be both insightful and indispensable for students and fellow researchers. 
 

 
Professor Fran Collyer
University of Karlstad, Sweden

An academy of British, Canadian, European, and Australian scholars offers a tantalizing taste of traditional and innovative medical sociology ideas that demonstrate the pressing relevance of probing the social trade-offs of health and illness in a globalizing world.  From medicalization to stigma, this book is a must-read introduction for those curious about the greatest hits of medical sociology.

Professor Stefan Timmermans
University of California

Will provide a good grounding for my paramedic students.

Dr John Donaghy
Allied Health & Medicine (Cambridge), Anglia Ruskin University
January 25, 2023

This book is very good! It has content that I am interested in and I like that each chapter is on a different topic, written by a different person and includes a definition of each concept, as well as providing further reading suggestions. The textbook is eye-opening and it has different perspectives that I hadn’t thought of before.
I would definitely use this for higher education studying and teaching, and will recommend it to my classmates/colleagues as a book to pick up if they are interested in understanding health in relation to society and day to day living.
The content is also relevant to modern day living and includes good information on pandemics and how this affects human life.

Ms lisa oneill
Education, City College Norwich
March 27, 2023

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter 5: Sexuality


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