The Sociology of Health, Healing and Illness

Part 1 Perspectives on the sociology of health, healing and illness: an introduction to the sociology of health, healing and illness; the development of scientific medicine. Part 2 The influence of the social environment on health and illness: social epidemiology; disease and illness in American society; social stress. Part 3 Health and illness behaviours: health behaviour; illness and sick role behaviour. Part 4 Health care practitioners and their relationships with patients: physicians and the profession of medicine; medical education and the socialization of physicians; nurses, mid-level health care practitioners, and allied health workers; alternative healers and alternative healing practices; the physician-patient relationship; professional and ethical obligations of physicians in the physician-patient relationship. Part 5 The health care system: the United States health care system; health care delivery; the social implications of health care technology; comparative health care systems.