Main description:

This is the sixth edition of an established and highly successful introduction to sociology for medical students and health professionals of all kinds. It will also be of value for sociology students.

Sociology as Applied to Medicine introduces students to the social context of health and illness in an understandable and accessible way - a number of reviewers have commented on its lucid and jargon-free text. The curriculum in medical schools now lays more emphasis than in the past on the social context of medicine, making this book even more indispensable.

Contents:

Part 1: Social Aspects of disease. Society and changing patterns of disease. Social determinants of health and disease.

Part 2: Social factors in Medical Practice. Health and illness behaviour. The doctor-patient relationship. Hospitals and patient care. Living with chronic illness. Dying, death and bereavement.

Part 3: Social structure and Health. Inequality and social class. Women and health. The health and health care of ethnic minority groups. Older people, health care and society.

Part 4: The Social Process of Defining disease. The limits and boundaries of medical knowledge. Deviance, sick role and stigma.

Part 5: Organisation of Health Services. Origins and development of the National Health Service. Health professions. Community care and informal caring. Health promotion and the New Public Health. Measuring health outcomes. Organizing and funding health care.