Ellen Annandale – författare

Shortlisted for the BSA Sociology of Health and Illness Book Prize 2009Traditional distinctions between the experiences of women and men are breaking down and being reconfigured in new, more complex ways. The long-established life expectancy gap between men and women appears to be closing in many affluent societies. Many men appear to be far more ‘body and health conscious’ than they ever were in the past and there are perceptible changes in women’s ‘health behaviours’, such as increases in cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption.Ellen Annandale provides a comprehensive and persuasive analysis of the contemporary social relations of gender and women’s health, arguing that the once all important sex/gender distinction fosters an undue separation between the social and the biological whereas it is their interaction and flexibility that is important in the production of health and illness. New theoretical tools are needed in a world where the meaning and lived experience of biological sex and of social gender, as well as the connections between them, are far more fluid. This book takes a step forward, outlining what an adequate feminist analysis of women’s health might look like.Women’s Health and Social Change will be of interest to academics and students working in sociology, women’s studies, gender studies, social medicine, social policy, nursing and midwifery.

Shortlisted for the BSA Sociology of Health and Illness Book Prize 2009Traditional distinctions between the experiences of women and men are breaking down and being reconfigured in new, more complex ways. The long-established life expectancy gap between men and women appears to be closing in many affluent societies. Many men appear to be far more ‘body and health conscious’ than they ever were in the past and there are perceptible changes in women’s ‘health behaviours’, such as increases in cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption.Ellen Annandale provides a comprehensive and persuasive analysis of the contemporary social relations of gender and women’s health, arguing that the once all important sex/gender distinction fosters an undue separation between the social and the biological whereas it is their interaction and flexibility that is important in the production of health and illness. New theoretical tools are needed in a world where the meaning and lived experience of biological sex and of social gender, as well as the connections between them, are far more fluid. This book takes a step forward, outlining what an adequate feminist analysis of women’s health might look like.Women’s Health and Social Change will be of interest to academics and students working in sociology, women’s studies, gender studies, social medicine, social policy, nursing and midwifery.

Publisher’s note:The publishers would like to confirm that for Volume 1: ‘Theoretical and Methodological Developments’ and Volume 3: ‘Gender and Healthcare’ Ellen Annandale was the lead editor and lead author of the introductions. Kate Hunt was the lead editor for Volume 2: ‘Understanding the Patterning of Health by Gender’ and Volume 4: ‘Gender and Health Behaviours’The order in the printed book did not reflect this distinction, but we are happy to clarify the correct order. Life expectancy is higher for women than men in almost every country, leading the World Health Organization to suggest that ‘their innate constitution’ gives women ‘an advantage over men’. However, this differential is far greater in some countries (e.g. Japan) than others (e.g. Qatar and Botswana) and rapid changes in the sex differential in life expectancy—as seen in the countries of the former Soviet Union in the last decades of the twentieth century—can only be explained by social factors. Research on health can thus demonstrate how the ways that different societies (historically and cross-culturally) create differential life chances and opportunities for men and women gets ‘written’ on people’s bodies.Women’s mortality advantage does not translate into better health across all outcomes. For example, women are diagnosed with more depression and more joint pain and associated disability. For many years, it was assumed that the aphorism that ‘women get sicker but men die quicker’ (the so-called ‘gender paradox’) was an adequate and useful summary for gender differences in health, but recent research shows patterns are far more complex. This complexity poses exciting challenges for research on gender and health. Gender inequalities in health provide a window to understand how the social world ‘gets under the skin’ and how human health can be improved.A tradition of research stemming back to at least the 1960s has highlighted the gendered assumptions that are built into the provision of healthcare. This occurs within the community where women generally shoulder the burden of caring for others, and in formal health systems where the division of labour is often highly patriarchal. Gendered assumptions about the kinds of health problems that men and women suffer from, and about the ways that they relate to symptoms of illness, may bias decision-making by service providers, often in ways that are not beneficial to health.Issues and themes in and around gender and health such as these continue to generate a huge scholarly literature, and this new collection from Routledge’s Major Themes in Health and Social Welfare series meets the need for an authoritative reference work to help researchers and students navigate and make sense of it. The collection is made up of four volumes which bring together the best and most influential canonical and cutting-edge research. It draws together key works spanning theoretical developments and empirical research which uses a range of qualitative and quantitative methods. With a full index, and thoughtful introductions, newly written by the editors, Gender and Health traces the progress of research in this field and highlights the challenges for future research. It will be valued by scholars, students, and researchers as a vital and enduring resource.

This Reader introduces students of sociology and health care to the changing fields of medical knowledge and medical work. Provides a chronicle of reseach in the field of medical knowledge, medical work and health care over the past 25 years. Summarises changes in how health care was delivered and how medical knowledge and practice were conceptualised over this period. Section introductions by the editors situate the articles within a wider body of literature. A valuable resource for student of sociiology, social policy, social work, health policy or health care.

Highly Commended - BMA Medical Awards 2015: Health and Social CareThe fully revised edition of this highly respected textbook addresses the most important theoretical and empirical debates in the sociology of health and medicine. Chapter by chapter the book examines important issues such as the complexities surrounding health and identity, health inequalities, and the organization and provision of health care. A particular strength of the book is its careful attention to theoretical developments in the field.The second edition has been rigorously updated to take account of recent theories and evidence in medical sociology. New to this edition are discussions of globalization, individualization, medicalization, new medical technologies and the sociology of the body. The new edition also looks in detail at recent social change and hotly debated explanations for the patterning of health by socioeconomic status, gender and ethnicity. In addition, it examines developments in contemporary health care, including the reconceptualization of patients as consumers.The result is a text that will be of interest to upper-level undergraduates and postgraduate students in sociology and social policy, as well as students of the allied health professions looking for an in-depth and forward-thinking introduction to medical sociology.

Highly Commended - BMA Medical Awards 2015: Health and Social CareThe fully revised edition of this highly respected textbook addresses the most important theoretical and empirical debates in the sociology of health and medicine. Chapter by chapter the book examines important issues such as the complexities surrounding health and identity, health inequalities, and the organization and provision of health care. A particular strength of the book is its careful attention to theoretical developments in the field.The second edition has been rigorously updated to take account of recent theories and evidence in medical sociology. New to this edition are discussions of globalization, individualization, medicalization, new medical technologies and the sociology of the body. The new edition also looks in detail at recent social change and hotly debated explanations for the patterning of health by socioeconomic status, gender and ethnicity. In addition, it examines developments in contemporary health care, including the reconceptualization of patients as consumers.The result is a text that will be of interest to upper-level undergraduates and postgraduate students in sociology and social policy, as well as students of the allied health professions looking for an in-depth and forward-thinking introduction to medical sociology.

This book traces the history of formative, enduring concepts, foundational in the development of the health disciplines. It explores existing literature, and subsequent contested applications. Feminist legacies are discussed with a clear message that early sociological and anthropological theories and debates remain valuable to scholars today. Chapters cover historical events and cultural practices from the standpoint of ‘difference’; formulate theories about the emergence of social issues and problems and discuss health and illness in light of cultural values and practices, social conditions, embodiment and emotions. This collection will be of great value to scholars of biomedicine, health and gender.

This book traces the history of formative, enduring concepts, foundational in the development of the health disciplines. It explores existing literature, and subsequent contested applications. Feminist legacies are discussed with a clear message that early sociological and anthropological theories and debates remain valuable to scholars today. Chapters cover historical events and cultural practices from the standpoint of ‘difference’; formulate theories about the emergence of social issues and problems and discuss health and illness in light of cultural values and practices, social conditions, embodiment and emotions. This collection will be of great value to scholars of biomedicine, health and gender.