The Sociology of Health, Healing, and Illness

Dr. Gregory L. Weiss is Professor of Sociology at Roanoke College where he teaches courses on medical sociology, ethics and medicine, Native Americans, and research methods. He has led student study tours to Great Britain, Luxembourg, Australia, and to the Navajo and Hopi reservations. Dr. Weiss is author or co-author of three books and more than three dozen journal articles. He works with a variety of local community organizations including a free health clinic and the SPCA. Dr. Weiss has received teaching awards from Roanoke College, the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia, the ASA Section on Teaching and Learning, and the Southern Sociological Society.

In this Section:

1. Brief Table of Contents

2. Full Table of Contents

1. Brief Table of Contents:

 

Part I:    Perspectives on the Sociology of Health, Healing, and Illness

Chapter 1:   A Brief Introduction to the Sociology of Health, Healing, and Illness

Chapter 2:   The Development of Scientific Medicine

Part II: The Influence of the Social Environment on Health and Illness

Chapter 3:   Social Epidemiology

Chapter 4:   Society, Disease, and Illness

Chapter 5:   Social Stress

Part III:    Health and Illness Behavior

Chapter 6:   Health Behavior

Chapter 7:   Experiencing Illness and Disability

Part IV: Health Care Practitioners and Their Relationship with Patients

Chapter 8:   Physicians and the Profession of Medicine

Chapter 9:   Medical Education and the Socialization of Physicians

Chapter 10:   Nurses, Mid-Level Health Care Practitioners, and Allied Health Workers

Chapter 11:   Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Chapter 12:   The Physician-Patient Relationship: Background and Models

Chapter 13:   Professional and Ethical Obligations of Physicians in the Physician-Patient

Part V:   The Health Care System

Chapter 14:   The Health Care System of the United States

Chapter 15:   Health Care Delivery

Chapter 16:   The Social Implications of Advanced Health Care Technology

Chapter 17:   Comparative Health Care Systems

 

2. Full Table of Contents

 

Part I:    Perspectives on the Sociology of Health, Healing, and Illness

Chapter 1:   A Brief Introduction to the Sociology of Health, Healing, and Illness

Definition of Medical Sociology

Historical Development of Medical Sociology 

Sociology’s Contribution to Understanding Health, Healing, and Illness 

The Role of the Medical Sociologist in the Twenty-First Century 

 

Chapter 2:   The Development of Scientific Medicine

A Brief History of Medicine 

Early Humans 

The Egyptian Civilization 

Greek and Roman Societies 

The Medieval Era 

Medicine in the Renaissance 

Medicine from 1600 to 1900 

The Ascendancy of Medical Authority in America 

Perspectives on the Ascendancy of Medical Authority 

 

Part II: The Influence of the Social Environment on Health and Illness

Chapter 3:   Social Epidemiology

The Work of the Epidemiologist 

The Epidemiological Transition 

Life Expectancy and Mortality 

Infant Mortality 

Maternal Mortality 

Morbidity 

Disability 

 

Chapter 4:   Society, Disease, and Illness

The Social Etiology of Disease 

The Interrelationship of Proximate Risk Factors and Fundamental Causes: The Case of Develop-ing Countries 

The Influence of Genetic Transmission on Disease and Illness 

Cardiovascular Diseases 

Cancer 

HIV/AIDS 

Alzheimer’s Disease 

Mental Illness 

 

Chapter 5:   Social Stress

Definition of Stress 

Historical Development of the Stress Concept 

A Model of Social Stress 

Stressors 

Appraisal of Stressors 

Mediators of Stress: Coping and Social Support 

Stress Outcomes 

The Role of Social Class, Race, Sexual Orientation, and Gender in Social Stress 

 

Part III:    Health and Illness Behavior

Chapter 6:   Health Behavior

The Concept of Health 

Health Behavior 

Describing Individual Health Behaviors 

Explaining Health Behavior 

 

Chapter 7:   Experiencing Illness and Disability

Stages of Illness Experience 

Stage 1: Symptom Experience 

Stage 2: Assumption of the Sick Role; Illness as Deviance 

Stage 3: Medical Care Contact/Self-Care 

Stage 4: Dependent-Patient Role 

Stage 5: Recovery and Rehabilitation 

Experiencing Chronic Illness, Impairment, and Disability 

 

Part IV: Health Care Practitioners and Their Relationship with Patients

Chapter 8:   Physicians and the Profession of Medicine

The Profession of Medicine 

The Social Control of Medicine 

The Number, Composition, and Distribution of Physicians in the United States 

Female Physicians 

Physician Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction 

Physician Impairment: Stresses and Strains of the Physician Role 

 

Chapter 9:   Medical Education and the Socialization of Physicians

The History of Medical Education 

Modern Medical Education 

The Medical School Experience: Attitude and Value Acquisition 

The Medical School Experience: Stress 

The Medical School Experience: Career Choices 

Future Directions in U.S. Medical Education 

 

Chapter 10:   Nurses, Mid-Level Health Care Practitioners, and Allied Health Workers

Evolution of Nonphysician Health Care Practitioners 

Nurses and the Field of Nursing 

Mid-Level Health Care Practitioners 

Allied Health Workers 

The Health Care Team 

Relationships among Health Care Workers 

The Changing Environment among Health Care Workers 

 

Chapter 11:   Complementary and Alternative Medicine

The Meaning of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) 

Scientific Medicine and Alternative Healing 

Complementary and Alternative Healers 

Chiropractic 

Acupuncture 

Spiritual Healing and Christian Science 

Ethnic Folk Healing 

 

Chapter 12:   The Physician-Patient Relationship: Background and Models

Models of the Physician—Patient Relationship 

Key Dimensions of the Physician—Patient Relationship 

The Current Move to Patient-Centered Care

The Influence of Social Class, Race, and Symptomology on the Physician—Patient Relationship 

The Influence of Gender on the Physician—Patient Relationship 

Patient Satisfaction with Physicians 

Patient Compliance with Medical Regimens 

 

Chapter 13:   Professional and Ethical Obligations of Physicians in the Physician-Patient Relationship

Truth-telling as an Issue 

Confidentiality as an Issue 

Obligation to Treat Patients with Highly Contagious Diseases 

 

Part V:   The Health Care System

Chapter 14:   The Health Care System of the United States

Rating the U. S. Health Care System 

The U. S. Health Care System 

The Financing of Health Care in the United States 

Explanations for the High Cost of American Medicine 

America’s Uninsured Population 

Historical Efforts to Reform the Health Care System 

Health Care Reform of 2010: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 

 

Chapter 15:   Health Care Delivery

Hospitals 

Freestanding Ambulatory and Surgical Sites

Nursing Homes 

Hospices 

Home Health Care 

 

Chapter 16:   The Social Implications of Advanced Health Care Technology

Societal Control of Technology 

Health Care Technology 

The Right to Refuse or Demand Advanced Health Care Technology 

Organ Donation and Transplantation 

Assisted Procreation 

 

Chapter 17:   Comparative Health Care Systems

Major Influences on Health Care Systems 

Health Care Services in Developing Countries 

Types of Health Care Systems 

China 

Canada 

Great Britain 

Russia 

Common Challenges to Health Care Systems Around the World