The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Medical Sociology

THE WILEY BLACKWELL COMPANION TO Medical Sociology

The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Medical Sociology is an authoritative overview of the most recent research, major theoretical approaches, and central issues and debates within the field. Bringing together contributions from an international team of leading scholars, this wide-ranging volume summarizes significant new developments and discusses a broad range of globally-relevant topics. The Companion’s twenty-eight chapters contain timely, theoretically-informed coverage of the coronavirus pandemic and emerging diseases, bioethics, healthcare delivery systems, health disparities associated with migration, social class, gender, and race. It also explores mental health, the family, religion, and many other real-world health concerns.

The most up-to-date and comprehensive single-volume reference on the key concepts and contemporary issues in medical sociology, this book:

• Presents thematically-organized essays by authors who are recognized experts in their fields
• Features new chapters reflecting state-of-the-art research and contemporary issues relevant to global health
• Covers vital topics such as current bioethical debates and the global effort to cope with the coronavirus pandemic
• Discusses the important relationship between culture and health in a global context
• Provide fresh perspectives on the sociology of the body, biomedicalization, health lifestyle theory, doctor-patient relations, and social capital and health

The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Medical Sociology is essential reading for advanced under­graduate and graduate students in medical sociology, health studies, and health care, as well as for academics, researchers, and practitioners wanting to keep pace with new developments in the field.

List of Contributors viii

Preface xix

Part I Introduction 1

1 Medical Sociology and Its Changing Subfields 3

Terrence D. Hill, William C. Cockerham, Jane D. Mcleod, and Frederic W. Hafferty

2 Medical Sociology and Sociological Theory 22

William C. Cockerham and Graham Scambler

3 Research Methods in Medical Sociology 45

Joseph D. Wolfe, Shawn Bauldry, and Cindy L. Cain

4 Health and Culture in the Global Context 62

Stella Quah

5 Bioethics: A Study in Sociology 82

Kristina Orfali and Raymond de Vries

Part II Theoretical Approaches 103

6 The Sociology of the Body 105

Sarah Nettleton

7 Biomedicalization Revisited 125

Adele E. Clarke, Melanie Jeske, Laura Mamo, and Janet K. Shim

8 Health Lifestyles: Bringing Structure Back 150

William C. Cockerham

9 The Life Course Perspective 171

Kim M. Shuey and Andrea E. Willson

10 Social Capital and Health 192

Lijun Song and Yvonne Chen

Part III Health and Social Inequality 215

11 Health and Social Class 217

Jarron M. Saint Onge and Patrick M. Krueger

12 Health and Gender 237

Ellen Annandale

13 Health, Ethnicity, and Race 258

Hannah Bradby and James Y. Nazroo

14 African American Health 279

Christy L. Erving and Lacee A. Satcher

15 Latinos and Equity in Health Care Access in the US 303

Ronald J. Angel and Jacqueline L. Angel

16 Social Policies and Health Inequalities 322

Amélie Quesnel-Vallée, Jaunathan Bilodeau, and Kaitlin Conway

Part IV Health and Social Relationships 347

17 Health and the Family 349

Mieke Beth Thomeer and Kirsten Ostergren Clark

18 Health and Religion 370

Ellen Idler

19 Migration and Health 389

Elyas Bakhtiari

20 Mental Health 410

Teresa L. Scheid

Part V Health and Disease 431

21 Emerging Infectious Diseases 433

Ron Barrett

22 Beyond the Lost Self: Old Insights and New Horizons in the Sociology of Chronic Illness 447

Alexandra C. H. Nowakowski

Part VI Health Care Delivery 471

23 Health Professions and Occupations 473

Jason Adam Wasserman and Brian Philip Hinote

24 Doctor–Patient Relationship 495

Hyeyoung Oh Nelson

25 Complementary and Alternative Medicine 516

Eeva Sointu

26 American Health Care System: Reforms for Access, Outcomes, and Cost Amid Legal, Legislative, and Political Disputes 537

Bernice A. Pescosolido and Carol A. Boyer

27 The British Healthcare System 556

Jonathan Gabe

28 The Chinese Health Care System 572

Lei Jin and Chenyu Ye

Author Index 590

Subject Index 605

WILLIAM C. COCKERHAM is Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Chair Emeritus at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA, and Research Scholar of Sociology at the College of William & Mary in Virginia, USA. His PhD is from the University of California at Berkeley, USA. He is past President of the Research Committee on Health Sociology of the International Sociological Association. Currently, he is Deputy Editor of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior and has served on the editorial boards of several journals, including the American Sociological Review and Society and Mental Health. Dr. Cockerham has published numerous peer-reviewed papers on medical sociology and is author or editor of nineteen books and two encyclopedias.

THE WILEY BLACKWELL COMPANION TO Medical Sociology

The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Medical Sociology is an authoritative overview of the most recent research, major theoretical approaches, and central issues and debates within the field. Bringing together contributions from an international team of leading scholars, this wide-ranging volume summarizes significant new developments and discusses a broad range of globally-relevant topics. The Companion’s twenty-eight chapters contain timely, theoretically-informed coverage of the coronavirus pandemic and emerging diseases, bioethics, healthcare delivery systems, health disparities associated with migration, social class, gender, and race. It also explores mental health, the family, religion, and many other real-world health concerns.

The most up-to-date and comprehensive single-volume reference on the key concepts and contemporary issues in medical sociology, this book:

The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Medical Sociology is essential reading for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in medical sociology, health studies, and health care, as well as for academics, researchers, and practitioners wanting to keep pace with new developments in the field.