Health, Illness, and Society

Steven E. Barkan is professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Maine. He is the author of several texts, including Criminology: A Sociological Understanding, 8e, Law and Society: An Introduction, 2e, and Sociology: Understanding and Changing the Social World, version 3.0.

A new comprehensive chapter of the COVID-19 Pandemic is included and applied to each chapter in the book, covering major themes and points. It’s easy for students to see the connection.

• PrefaceAcknowledgments 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 ExperimentsCriteria 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 STDsCONCLUSION Summary | Giving It Some Thought | Key Terms 5 Social Causes of Health and Health Problems LEARNING QUESTIONS 85SOCIAL 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 HealthWomen’s Health Environmental Pollution and Hazards Substandard Health Care HIV and AIDSDOCUMENTING 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 MEDICALEDUCATION 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 PandemicLEARNING QUESTIONSSOCIOLOGY AND THE STUDY OF HEALTH AND ILLNESSA SOCIAL HISTORY OF HEALTH AND ILLNESSHEALTH BEHAVIORILLNESS BEHAVIOR AND THE EXPERIENCES OF ILLNESSSOCIAL CAUSES OF HEALTH AND HEALTH PROBLEMSRace and EthnicitySocial ClassPolitical Party AffiliationSexual Orientation and Gender IdentityGLOBAL DISPARITIES IN HEALTH AND DISEASEPHYSICIANS AND OTHER HEALTH CARE PROVIDERSHOSPITALS AND OTHER HEALTH CARE SETTINGSHEALTH AND HEALTH CARE IN THE WORLD'S WEALTHY DEMOCRACIES VERSUS THE UNITED STATESCONCLUSIONSummary | Giving It Some Thought | Key Terms Glossary References Index