The Sociology of Health and Medicine: A Critical Introduction

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Summary: Critical analysis of present-day medecine and health care
Review: Highly recommendable introduction to sociology of medecine, which tries to position itself as an independent discipline and claims that medical knowledge is never disinterested. Describes the evolution from the 'bed side' medicine, with a privileged relationship between a physician and a patient, over the 'hospital medicine' which is characterized by a shift in the face-to-face relationship towards a fractioning of the patient's body in 'specialized topics'of health care, whereby the interest in the patient as a 'whole person' is replaced by studies of specific lesions and malfunctions. From then on the patient is supposed to 'endure and wait'. The 'laboratory medicine' represents the ultimate stage, where the patient becomes a material thing to be analysed. The description of the 'sick role' and 'physician role' are particularly interesting. The book also contains references to main-stream approaches in the sociology of the seventies that have had a crucial role in the sociology of health and medecine, which makes the book accessible even to those who lack a thorough background in sociology. It also provides a clear overview of the feminist theories (liberal, radical, postmodern, materialist). The book goes on with a research on economic inequality and health, with sometimes surprising conclusions! The only criticism here is that the statistical material refers to Great Britain for the most. Given GB's typical health care system, the results are not very useful for extrapolations to other European Countries or the US. The next chapter on gender inequalities and health status, with a focus on the relationship between health status and social roles, also features some surprising (read: interesting) conclusions! A further link is made from 'race', ethnicity, social class to illness and health. The last part of the book focusses on the experience of illness and health care in the 1990's and beyond. Overall, it's surely worthwhile reading as one of the few accessible works that challenges the 'establishment of the medical profession' in it's claim to be an 'objective, colourfree and fair' discipline.