Medical Sociology

by William C. Cockerham

Overview

The most comprehensive major academic textbook available on its topic, this classic text presents the most important research studies in the field. The author integrates engaging first-person accounts from patients, physicians, and other health-care providers throughout the text. Since the book’s inception, its principal goal has been to introduce students to the field of medical sociology and serve as a reference for faculty by presenting the most current ideas, issues, concepts, themes, theories, and research findings in the field. This 16th edition is heavily revised, with updated data and important new additions.

New to this edition:

• Updated chapter on the social causes, impacts, and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic (Chapter 3)
• Analysis of the widening ten-year gap in average life expectancy in American society between the wealthy and well-educated and the poor and less-educated (Chapter 4)
• Expanded discussion of the effects of racism on physical and mental health (Chapter 6)
• Additions to health lifestyle theory of pandemic behavior and the digitalization of society (Chapter 8)
• New developments in doctor–patient interaction, including the use of genomic data and artificial intelligence (AI) technology in medical care (Chapter 10)
• The endangered Affordable Care Act (Chapter 16)
• Review of key issues in different types of health-care delivery systems (Chapter 17)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781040317648
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	04/02/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	496
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

William C. Cockerham is Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Chair Emeritus at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Research Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland, College Park. He previously held a joint appointment in sociology and psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is past President of the Research Committee on Health Sociology of the International Sociological Association, and formerly served on the editorial boards of the American Sociological Review, the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Society and Mental Health, Social Currents, and other journals. Dr. Cockerham has published numerous peer-reviewed papers in academic journals and is author or editor of 20 books. His most recent books from Routledge include Sociology of Mental Disorder (2024), Sociological Theories of Health and Illness (2021), and The COVID-19 Reader: The Science and What It Says About the Social (2021).

Read an Excerpt

PREFACE:

PREFACE

The field of medical sociology has undergone considerable change since the first edition of this textbook appeared in 1978. At that time, much of the research in medical sociology was dependent upon the sponsorship of physicians, and a clear division of labor existed between sociologists working in academic departments in universities and those working in health institutions. Today, that situation has changed drastically. Medical sociology is no longer highly dependent on the medical profession for funding or focus—although a strong alliance continues to exist in many cases. Medical sociologists exercise their craft in an increasingly independent manner, either working with a greater degree of partnership with health care professionals or functioning as medicine's critics should the situation warrant it. Furthermore, research and teaching in medical sociology in both universities and health institutions are increasingly similar in the application of theory and usefulness in addressing problems relevant to clinical practice. In sum, medical sociology has evolved into a mature, objective, and independent field of study and work.

Medical sociology has also experienced significant growth worldwide in numbers of practitioners. In many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Singapore, medical sociologists are either the largest or one of the largest specialty groups in sociology. The European Society for Health and Medical Sociology is a large and active professional society, as are the medical sociology sections of the American, British, and German sociologicalassociations. In 1999, the American and British medical sociology sections held their first joint meeting at London University's Royal Holloway College. Elsewhere, the Japanese Society of Health and Medical Sociology is working to further develop the field in its nation, while medical sociologists in Latin America hold regional conferences on a regular basis and have their own Spanish-language journals.

Numerous books, journals, college and university courses, medical programs, and lecture series in medical sociology now exist in different parts of the world. This textbook, for example, has been translated into Chinese by Yang Hui and Zhang Tuohong of Beijing Medical University and published by Huaxia Publishing House in Beijing. In the United States, several universities offer specialties in medical sociology, while two universities, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of California at San Francisco—both with large medical campuses—offer doctorates in medical sociology. Columbia University in New York City offers a combined Ph.D. program in sociology and public health, while medical sociology has traditionally been the major focus in sociology departments at the University of Kentucky and the University of Miami (Florida). Additionally, there are departments of social medicine, which include medical sociologists, at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as McGill University in Montreal.

The principal goal of this textbook since its inception has been to introduce students to medical sociology by presenting the ideas, concepts, themes, theories, and research findings in the field. This edition—the eighth—continues this approach. The intent is to identify and discuss the most current issues, debates, and findings in medical sociology.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The material contained in the pages of this book is my own responsibility in terms of perspective, scope, and style of presentation. Nevertheless, I am deeply grateful to several people for their assistance in preparing the eight editions of this book. I would like to acknowledge the insightful comments of those colleagues who reviewed all or part of this work throughout the revision process. For sharing their views and helping to improve the quality of this book, my appreciation goes to Melvin Barber, Florida A&M University; Paul Berzina, County College of Morris; Deirdre Bowen, University of Washington; Herbert Bynder, University of Colorado; Robert Clark, Midwestern State University; John Collette, University of Utah; Spencer Condie, Brigham Young University; Morton Creditor, University of Kansas Medical Center; Norman Denzin, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Karen A. Donahue, Hanover College; Barry Edmonston, Cornell University; Eliot Freidson, New York University; Reed Geertsen, Utah State University; Sharon Guten, Case Western Reserve University; Joseph Jones, Portland State University; Daniel J. Klenow, North Dakota State University; Sol Levine, Harvard University and the New England Medical Center; Richard C. Ludtke, University of North Dakota; Robert Terry Russell, College of St. Francis; Alexander Rysman, Northeastern University; Jeffrey Salloway, University of New Hampshire; Anne Saunders, College of St. Francis; Neil Smelser, Center for the Advanced Study of the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford; and George J. Warheit, University of Miami (Florida). I would also like to thank three doctoral students in medical sociology at UAB who provided important assistance in the preparation of this edition: Sara Daum, Chris Snead, and Garrison Thompson.

William C. Cockerham
Birmingham, Alabama

Table of Contents

Part I: Introduction 1. Medical Sociology 2. Social Epidemiology 3. The Social Causes, Impacts, and Responses to COVID-19 4. The Social Demography of Health: Social Class 5. The Social Demography of Health: Gender 6. The Social Demography of Health: Age and Race Part II: Health and Illness 7. Social Stress and Health 8. Health Behavior and Lifestyles 9. Illness Behavior and the Sick Role Part III: Providing Health Care 10. Physician–Patient Interaction 11. Physicians 12. The Physician in a Changing Society 13. Nurses, Physician Assistants, Pharmacists, and Midwives 14. Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Part IV: Health-Care Delivery Systems 15. Hospitals 16. Health Care Reform and Health Public Policy in the United States 17. Global Health Care

Preface

The field of medical sociology has undergone considerable change since the first edition of this textbook appeared in 1978. At that time, much of the research in medical sociology was dependent upon the sponsorship of physicians, and a clear division of labor existed between sociologists working in academic departments in universities and those working in health institutions. Today, that situation has changed drastically. Medical sociology is no longer highly dependent on the medical profession for funding or focus—although a strong alliance continues to exist in many cases. Medical sociologists exercise their craft in an increasingly independent manner, either working with a greater degree of partnership with health care professionals or functioning as medicine's critics should the situation warrant it. Furthermore, research and teaching in medical sociology in both universities and health institutions are increasingly similar in the application of theory and usefulness in addressing problems relevant to clinical practice. In sum, medical sociology has evolved into a mature, objective, and independent field of study and work.

Medical sociology has also experienced significant growth worldwide in numbers of practitioners. In many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Singapore, medical sociologists are either the largest or one of the largest specialty groups in sociology. The European Society for Health and Medical Sociology is a large and active professional society, as are the medical sociology sections of the American, British, and German sociological associations. In 1999, the Americanand British medical sociology sections held their first joint meeting at London University's Royal Holloway College. Elsewhere, the Japanese Society of Health and Medical Sociology is working to further develop the field in its nation, while medical sociologists in Latin America hold regional conferences on a regular basis and have their own Spanish-language journals.

Numerous books, journals, college and university courses, medical programs, and lecture series in medical sociology now exist in different parts of the world. This textbook, for example, has been translated into Chinese by Yang Hui and Zhang Tuohong of Beijing Medical University and published by Huaxia Publishing House in Beijing. In the United States, several universities offer specialties in medical sociology, while two universities, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of California at San Francisco—both with large medical campuses—offer doctorates in medical sociology. Columbia University in New York City offers a combined Ph.D. program in sociology and public health, while medical sociology has traditionally been the major focus in sociology departments at the University of Kentucky and the University of Miami (Florida). Additionally, there are departments of social medicine, which include medical sociologists, at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as McGill University in Montreal.

The principal goal of this textbook since its inception has been to introduce students to medical sociology by presenting the ideas, concepts, themes, theories, and research findings in the field. This edition—the eighth—continues this approach. The intent is to identify and discuss the most current issues, debates, and findings in medical sociology.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The material contained in the pages of this book is my own responsibility in terms of perspective, scope, and style of presentation. Nevertheless, I am deeply grateful to several people for their assistance in preparing the eight editions of this book. I would like to acknowledge the insightful comments of those colleagues who reviewed all or part of this work throughout the revision process. For sharing their views and helping to improve the quality of this book, my appreciation goes to Melvin Barber, Florida A&M University; Paul Berzina, County College of Morris; Deirdre Bowen, University of Washington; Herbert Bynder, University of Colorado; Robert Clark, Midwestern State University; John Collette, University of Utah; Spencer Condie, Brigham Young University; Morton Creditor, University of Kansas Medical Center; Norman Denzin, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Karen A. Donahue, Hanover College; Barry Edmonston, Cornell University; Eliot Freidson, New York University; Reed Geertsen, Utah State University; Sharon Guten, Case Western Reserve University; Joseph Jones, Portland State University; Daniel J. Klenow, North Dakota State University; Sol Levine, Harvard University and the New England Medical Center; Richard C. Ludtke, University of North Dakota; Robert Terry Russell, College of St. Francis; Alexander Rysman, Northeastern University; Jeffrey Salloway, University of New Hampshire; Anne Saunders, College of St. Francis; Neil Smelser, Center for the Advanced Study of the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford; and George J. Warheit, University of Miami (Florida). I would also like to thank three doctoral students in medical sociology at UAB who provided important assistance in the preparation of this edition: Sara Daum, Chris Snead, and Garrison Thompson.

William C. Cockerham
Birmingham, Alabama

Editorial Reviews

This introductory text provides clear coverage of the ideas, concepts, themes, and research findings in the field of medical sociology. This edition (last, 1995) includes updated treatment of the dramatic decline in the professional power of physicians, the aftermath of the Clinton Administration's attempt at health care reform in the US, and international comparisons of health care delivery. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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