Medical Sociology

Hannah Bradby’s research on howethnicity and racism intervene in the social relations of health has beenpublished in various journals including ‘Social Science and Medicine’ and‘Sociological Research Online’.  Sheco-edits the journal ‘Ethnicity and Health’ and is the ‘Sociology of Health andIllness’ monograph series editor.Hannah has taught both medics andsociologists at the University of Warwick since 2000, employing variousrepresentations of health, illness and suffering including written (memoire,letters, reportage, fiction, clinical notes, empirical research) and spokenforms (evidence from clinicians, patients and former patients, in variouslanguages, and sometimes mediated by trained interpreters). She has worked onthe core medical school curriculum and special study modules and hascollaborated with students to publish books of their own sociological work,both written and photographic. Building on observations by the late MegStacey (the first female professor at the University of Warwick) on medicalsociology’s lack of attention to war as a public health problem Hannahco-edited (with Gillian Hundt) a collection entitled ‘Global Perspectives onWar, Gender and Health’ (2010, Avebury). ‘Medical Sociology: An introduction’(2009, Sage) seeks to interpret sociological criticism of medicine and insightsinto the experience of illness for medical students.

• Part 1 The social context of health and illnessA very brief history of medicine and societyIntroduction1900 - the dawn of the twentieth centuryFirst World War: 1914-19181918-1939Second World War 1939-19451945 to the 21st centuryCosts and benefits of 20th century medical innovationHealth inequalitiesMedical transformationsFurther readingRevision questions & Extension questionsDefining the doctor′s remitIntroductionDiagnosis: legitimate and illegitimate illnessTreating diagnosed diseaseDefining deathDoing deathDefining doctors as special healersOverlap with other professionals′ workSpecialization to the point of incoherence?Medicine′s place in societyFurther readingRevision questions & Extension questionsDefining health, defining diseaseIntroductionBiomedical disease modelLimitations of the biomedical modelDefining healthLay understandings of healthDimensions of lay models of healthThe context of healthBiomedical disease and the value of healthFurther readingRevision questions & Extension questions Part 2 Getting ill, being illThe social causes of diseaseIntroductionClass, ill health and industrial revolutionSocial class and inequalityPublic policy approaches to inequalityMechanisms causing health inequalities by classEthnicity and inequalityAge and genderTackling health inequalities Future prospectsInternational health inequalitiesFurther readingRevision questions & Extension questionsRisk, choice and lifestyleIntroductionIndividuals and their behavioursRisk taking and thrill seekingRisky sex and gay menPrejudice and blameCousin marriage and congenital problemsRisk and preventative medicineNew risks, new diseases - we′re all patients now?Risk, lifestyle medicine - what next?Further readingRevision questions & Extension questionsExperiencing illnessIntroductionThe sick roleSickness as devianceStigma and illnessIllness as failureBiographical disruption and illness narrativesAutopathographyRemaking lives?Further readingRevision questions & Extension questionsIll bodies in societyIntroductionBodies in societyEmbodied illnessDualist thinkingBodies as machinesSuffering bodiesImpaired bodies and disabilityFurther readingRevision & Extension questionsThe process of disabilityIntroductionDisability and the life courseChronic illness, impairment and disabilityThe social model of disabilityThe cultural model of disabilitySpecial or universal needsFurther readingRevision & Extension questionsPart 3 Getting healthcareDoctor-patient relationshipsIntroductionSelf-careAppropriate consultationCompliance, co-operation, conflictInverse care lawEvidence on medical consultationsCommunicating across the divideCo-operation and challengeFurther readingRevision & Extension questionsThe healthcare organizationIntroductionWhat′s so special about the NHS?Socialized medicineInsurance systemPluralist socialized systemEvaluating the NHSReforming the NHSClinical governanceMedical dominanceThe role of the hospitalCommercial and industrial interests in the NHSThe context of careFurther readingRevisions & extension questionsChallenges to medicineIntroductionChanging medical practiceDisappearing doctors, disappearing patientsDoctors′ difficultiesRegulating medicineReform from withinNon-human threatsProspectsFurther readingRevision & Extension questionsConclusionIntroductionChange and continuityEffective care: competing prioritiesThe politics of communicationUncertaintyContext

Provides a sophisticated introduction to the main issues in medical sociology. It is written in an accessible manner, making good use of examples and of questions that encourage the reader to reflect on the material that is presented. It gives a thoughtful and thorough account to provide advanced understanding - an excellent volume and one that I strongly recommendProfessor James Nazroo, SociologyThe University of ManchesterHannah Bradby has written an introduction to medical sociology that resonates with the lives and concerns of medical students. She provides a sociological lens through which they can critically examine the organization, rituals, practices and evidence base of modern medicine. This book expands horizons by turning attention from illness to health, from high technology to human experience and from diagnosis and treatment to health outcomesProfessor Gary AlbrechtUniversity of Illinois at Chicago, USA and University of Leuven, BelgiumHannah Bradby′s Medical Sociology: An Introduction pulls together a wealth of material on social aspects of medicine in society. The book combines cogent discussion with summaries, further reading and relevant questions. Essential for medical students and others studying health and illness, this lively text is set to become a market leader in its fieldMike BuryEmeritus Professor of Sociology, Royal Holloway, University of London