Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
1 Sociology and the Study of Health and Illness
LEARNING QUESTIONS
SOCIOLOGY AND MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY
Sociology’s Major Themes
The Sociological Imagination
Sociology’s Theoretical Traditions
THE SCOPE OF MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY
The Influence of the Social Environment
The Practice of Health Care
The Social Construction of Illness
RESEARCH METHODS IN MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY
Surveys
Qualitative Research
Experiments
Criteria of Causality
CONCLUSION
Summary | Giving It Some Thought | Key Terms
2 A Social History of Health and Illness
LEARNING QUESTIONS
HEALTH AND ILLNESS IN THE PREINDUSTRIAL WORLD
The Ancient Civilizations
The Middle Ages
THE RISE OF SCIENTIFIC MEDICINE
The Renaissance
The Eighteenth Century
The Nineteenth Century
Ethical Issues in Scientific Medicine
SOCIAL EPIDEMIOLOGY YESTERDAY AND TODAY
The Industrial Revolution
The Beginning of Epidemiology: John Snow and Cholera
The Epidemiological Transition
Public Health
A Word about Rates
CONCLUSION
Summary | Giving It Some Thought | Key Terms
3 Health Behavior
LEARNING QUESTIONS
WHAT IS HEALTH BEHAVIOR?
UNDERSTANDING HEALTH BEHAVIOR
Macro Factors
Micro Factors
THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF HEALTH BEHAVIOR: SOCIAL CLASS, RACE AND ETHNICITY, AND GENDER
Social Class
Race and Ethnicity
Gender
Illustrating the Effects of Social Class, Race and Ethnicity, and Gender
THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF HEALTH BEHAVIOR: OTHER FACTORS
Social Relationships
Neighborhood Living Conditions
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Religious Involvement
Corporate Practices
Public Policy
CONCLUSION
Summary | Giving It Some Thought | Key Terms
4 Illness Behavior and the Illness Experience
LEARNING QUESTIONS
UNDERSTANDING ILLNESS
Illness as a Social Construction
Medicalization
ILLNESS BEHAVIOR
Stages of the Illness Experience
Self-Care
Help-Seeking Behavior
The Social Context of Help-Seeking Behavior
THE EXPERIENCE OF ILLNESS
The Sick Role
Coping with Illness
A Representative Study of the Illness Experience: Women with STDs
CONCLUSION
Summary | Giving It Some Thought | Key Terms
5 Social Causes of Health and Health Problems
LEARNING QUESTIONS 85
SOCIAL CONDITIONS AS FUNDAMENTAL CAUSES OF DISEASE
SOCIAL CONDITIONS AS FUNDAMENTAL CAUSES OF HEALTH INEQUALITIES
Social Class
Race and Ethnicity
Gender and Sex
Age
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
OTHER SOCIAL CAUSES OF HEALTH AND HEALTH PROBLEMS
Social Stress
Social Relationships and Social Support
Religion
Neighborhood Living Conditions
Environmental Pollution and Hazards
Unsafe Products and Workplaces
Interpersonal Violence and Handgun Violence
CONCLUSION
Summary | Giving It Some Thought | Key Terms
6 Global Disparities in Health and Disease
LEARNING QUESTIONS
UNDERSTANDING GLOBAL INEQUALITY
Categorizing Global Inequality
Measuring World Poverty
Explaining Global Inequality
DIMENSIONS OF GLOBAL HEALTH DISPARITIES
Malnutrition and Hunger
Children’s Health
Women’s Health
Environmental Pollution and Hazards
Substandard Health Care
HIV and AIDS
DOCUMENTING GLOBAL HEALTH DISPARITIES
Life Expectancy
HIV/AIDS
Tuberculosis
Child Mortality
Child Underweight
Maternal Mortality
Natural Disaster Deaths
Births Attended by Skilled Health Personnel
CONCLUSION
Summary | Giving It Some Thought | Key Terms
7 Medical School and the Training of Physicians
LEARNING QUESTIONS
DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICAL SCHOOLS AND MEDICAL
EDUCATION
Medical Education in Early America
Nineteenth-Century Developments
The Flexner Report
MEDICAL SCHOOLS TODAY
Sociodemographic Profile of U.S. Medical Students
A Brief Look at Medical School Faculty
THE LIVES AND EXPERIENCES OF MEDICAL STUDENTS
Stress, Fatigue, and Burnout
The Socialization of Medical Students
CONCLUSION
Summary | Giving It Some Thought | Key Terms
8 Physicians and Their Interaction with Patients
LEARNING QUESTIONS
THE PROFESSION OF MEDICINE
The Practice of Medicine in Early America
Impact of the American Medical Association
The Downside of Professionalization
Decline of the Medical Profession’s Dominance
Medical Malpractice
A PROFILE OF PHYSICIANS TODAY
Types of Physicians
The Physician Shortage
Women Physicians
PHYSICIAN-PATIENT INTERACTION
Models of Physician-Patient Interaction
Gender, Race and Ethnicity, and Physician-Patient Interaction
CONCLUSION
Summary | Giving It Some Thought | Key Terms
9 Other Health Care Providers: Conventional and Alternative
LEARNING QUESTIONS
MAINSTREAM HEALTH CARE
Nurses and Nursing
Other Mainstream Health Care Providers
COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE (CAM)
Prevalence of CAM
Sociodemographic Characteristics and CAM Use
Effectiveness of CAM
CONCLUSION
Summary | Giving It Some Thought | Key Terms
10 Hospitals and Other Health Care Settings
LEARNING QUESTIONS
HOSPITALS
A Brief History of Hospitals
Hospitals in the United States Today
Problems with U.S. Hospitals
OTHER HEALTH CARE SETTINGS
Ambulatory Care Facilities
Nursing Homes
Home Health Care and Hospice Care
CONCLUSION
Summary | Giving It Some Thought | Key Terms
11 Health and Health Care in the World’s Wealthy Democracies
LEARNING QUESTIONS
THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS OF WEALTHY DEMOCRACIES
Models of Health Care Systems
The Health Care Systems of Selected Nations
COMPARING THE WEALTHY DEMOCRACIES
Comparing Health in Wealthy Democracies
Comparing Health Care in Wealthy Democracies
Explaining the U.S. Health Disadvantage
CONCLUSION
Summary | Giving It Some Thought | Key Terms
12 The U.S. Health Care System
LEARNING QUESTIONS
THE U.S. HEALTH CARE “SYSTEM”
U.S. HEALTH CARE BY THE NUMBERS
The Cost of Health Care
Sources of Health Care Spending
Sponsors of Health Care Spending
Health Care Employment
Health Care Visits
Health Insurance
PROBLEMS IN U.S. HEALTH CARE DELIVERY
Fragmentation and Lack of Coordination
Health Insurance Coverage: Uninsurance and Underinsurance
Social Inequalities in Health Care Delivery
The High Cost of Health Care
Waste in Health Care Spending
CONCLUSION
Summary | Giving It Some Thought | Key Terms
13 Health Care Reform: Obamacare and Beyond
LEARNING QUESTIONS
ORIGINS OF U.S. HEALTH INSURANCE
The Progressive Era
The Great Depression and the New Deal
The 1940s and 1950s
The 1960s: Medicare and Medicaid
The 1970s and 1980s
1990s–08
THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT (OBAMACARE)
Major Health Benefit Provisions of Obamacare
The Individual Mandate
ACHIEVEMENTS AND LIMITATIONS OF OBAMACARE
Achievements of Obamacare
Limitations of Obamacare
Reforms within Obamacare
BEYOND OBAMACARE
Medicare for All
The Bismarck Model
A Nonprofit Insurance Alternative
A Final Word
POSTSCRIPT: A SOCIOLOGICAL PRESCRIPTION FOR REDUCING THE U.S. HEALTH DISADVANTAGE
CONCLUSION
Summary | Giving It Some Thought | Key Terms
14 The COVID-19 Pandemic
LEARNING QUESTIONS
SOCIOLOGY AND THE STUDY OF HEALTH AND ILLNESS
A SOCIAL HISTORY OF HEALTH AND ILLNESS
HEALTH BEHAVIOR
ILLNESS BEHAVIOR AND THE EXPERIENCES OF ILLNESS
SOCIAL CAUSES OF HEALTH AND HEALTH PROBLEMS
Race and Ethnicity
Social Class
Political Party Affiliation
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
GLOBAL DISPARITIES IN HEALTH AND DISEASE
PHYSICIANS AND OTHER HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS
HOSPITALS AND OTHER HEALTH CARE SETTINGS
HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE IN THE WORLD'S WEALTHY DEMOCRACIES VERSUS THE UNITED STATES
CONCLUSION
Summary | Giving It Some Thought | Key Terms
Glossary
References
Index