The Sociology of Health and Illness

Sarah Nettleton s The Sociology of Health and Illness has become a cornerstone text, popular with students and academics alike for its rigorous and accessible overview of the field. Building on these strengths, the fourth edition integrates fresh insights from the current literature with the core tenets of traditional medical sociology, providing students with a thorough grounding in the sociology of health and illness. The text covers a diversity of topics and draws on a wide range of analytic approaches, spanning issues such as the social construction of medical knowledge, the analysis of lay health beliefs, concepts of lifestyles and risk, the experience of illness and the sociology of the body. It also explores matters that are central to health policy, such as professional patient relationships, health inequalities and the changing nature of health care work. A new chapter has been added, on the sociology of mental health; other chapters have been updated with illustrative examples and questions for discussion. Written for students of the social sciences, this book will also appeal to students taking vocational degrees, such as nursing, medicine and public health, who require a sociological grounding in the area. Thoroughly revised and fully updated, this fourth edition will prove invaluable to anyone looking for a clear and engaging introduction to contemporary debates within the sociology of health and illness.

Sarah Nettleton's The Sociology of Health and Illness has become a cornerstone text, popular with students and academics alike for its rigorous and accessible overview of the field. Building on these strengths, the fourth edition integrates fresh insights from the current literature with the core tenets of traditional medical sociology, providing students with a thorough grounding in the sociology of health and illness.The text covers a diversity of topics and draws on a wide range of analytic approaches, spanning issues such as the social construction of medical knowledge, the analysis of lay health beliefs, concepts of lifestyles and risk, the experience of illness and the sociology of the body. It also explores matters that are central to health policy, such as professional-patient relationships, health inequalities and the changing nature of health care work. A new chapter has been added, on the sociology of mental health; other chapters have been updated with illustrative examples and questions for discussion.Written for students of the social sciences, this book will also appeal to students taking vocational degrees, such as nursing, medicine and public health, who require a sociological grounding in the area. Thoroughly revised and fully updated, this fourth edition will prove invaluable to anyone looking for a clear and engaging introduction to contemporary debates within the sociology of health and illness.

Preface to First EditionPreface to Second EditionPreface to Third EditionPreface to Fourth Edition1 Introduction: The Changing Domains of the Sociology of Health and Illness2 The Social Construction of Medical Knowledge3 Health Practices, Lay Beliefs, Lifestyles and Risk4 The Experience of Chronic Illness and Disability5 Sociology of Mental Health and Illness6 The Sociology of the Body7 The Sociology of Innovative Health Technologies8 The Sociology of Lay-Professional Interactions9 Social Inequalities and Health Status10 Health Care Professions and Practitioners in Late Modernism11 Developments in Health Policy: A New Paradigm for Health Care?BibliographyIndex