This is the first international and inter-disciplinary social science Handbook on health and medicine. Five years in the making, and building on the insights and advice of an international editorial board, the book brings together world-class figures to provide an indispensable, comprehensive resource book on social science, health and medicine. Pinpointing the focal issues of research and debate in one volume, the material is organized into three sections: social and cultural frameworks of analysis; the experience of health and illness; and health care systems and practices. Each section consists of specially commissioned chapters designed to examine the vital conceptual and methodological practice and policy issues. Readers recei

With new chapters on key topics such as mental health, the environment, race, ethnicity and health, and pharmaceuticals, this new edition maintains its multidisciplinary framework and bridges the gap between health policy and the sociology of health. It builds upon the success of the first by encompassing a range of issues, studies, and disciplines. The broad coverage of topics in addition to new chapters present an engagement with contemporary issues, resulting in a valuable teaching aid. This second edition brings together a diverse range of leading international scholars with contributors from Australia, Puerto-Rico, USA, Guatemala, Germany, Sri Lanka, Botswana, UK, South Sudan, Mexico, South Korea, Canada and more. The second edition of this Handbook remains a key resource for undergraduates, post-graduates, and researchers across multidisciplinary backgrounds including: medicine, health and social care, sociology, and anthropology. PART ONE: Culture, Society and Health PART TWO: Lived Experiences PART THREE: Health Care Systems, Access and Use PART FOUR: Health in Environmental and Planetary Context

Readers receive not only a complete survey of social science, health and medicine in one volume but also an authoritative guide to the methodologies, key concepts, central theoretical traditions and an agenda for future research and practice

Sociology has evolved greatly since it′s inception as an academic discipline. It has diverged into numerous strands often flowing in disparate directions - so much so that today the notion of canonical sociology has become widely disputed. The field of sociology at present approximates to one of multi-paradigmatic complexity in which many approaches to theory must be distinguished and situated. In addition, the discipline has had to confront new challenges from globalization, the shift of interest from production to consumption, the rise of new social movements, the challenge of bio-engineering, the collapse of a ′presently existing socialist alternative′ and much else besides. The new SAGE Handbook of Sociology aims to address these new developments, while at the same time providing an authoritative guide to theory and method, the key sub-disciplines and the primary debates of today. To undertake this ambitious project three leading figures in the field of sociology were selected as editors to bring together the foremost exponents of the different strands that contribute towards the make up modern sociology. Drawn from both sides of the Atlantic the contributors have been commissioned to utilise the most up to date research available to provide a critical, international analysis of their area of expertise. The result is this essential resource collection that not just reflects upon the condition of sociology today but also looks to future developments in the discipline. The Handbook is invaluable not just all sociologists but to a wide variety of students and researchers across the social sciences. Click on ′Sample Chapters & Resources′ to download the introduction.

The SAGE Handbook of Mental Health and Illness is a landmark volume, which integrates the conceptual, empirical and evidence-based threads of mental health as an area of study, research and practice. It approaches mental health from two perspectives - firstly as a positive state of well-being and personal and social functioning and secondly as psychological difference or abnormality in its social context. Unique features include: - a broad and inclusive view of the field, providing depth and breadth for the reader - a team of international, multi-disciplinary editors and contributors, and - discussion of the many of the unresolved debates in the field about constructs and causes. The Handbook will be an invaluable resource for postgraduate students, academics and researchers studying mental health in disciplines such as psychiatry, clinical psychology, social work, occupational therapy, nursing and sociology.

With contributions from leading international academics across the social sciences, this accessible handbook takes a critical look at the key theories, disciplinary approaches, contemporary issues and debates in the field.

The SAGE Handbook of Health Psychology represents a landmark work in the field, gathering together in a single volume contributions from an internationally renowned group of scholars. It provides a definitive, one-stop, authoritative guide to the major themes and debates in health psychology, both past and present, and should in time become a classic reference work for a wide, international readership. Its coverage is comprehensive, both traditional and innovative, and reflects the latest in global health psychology research from a wide perspective. This includes the latest work in epidemiology of health and illness, health-related cognitions, chronic illness, interventions in changing health behaviour, research methods in health psychology and biological mechanisms of health and disease. As a result its potential as an authoritative entry point to those new to the discipline as well as those already working inside it is very high. Given its breadth of content and accessibility, the Handbook will be indispensable for advanced students as well as researchers. Expertly organized by editors of international stature, and authored by a similar team of luminaries in the field, this single volume Handbook is an essential purchase for individuals and librarians worldwide. Advisory Editors: Professor Karen Matthews PhD University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Prof. Dr. Ralf Schwarzer Freie Universität Berlin Professor Shelley Taylor PhD UCLA Professor Jane Wardle University College London Professor Robert West St. George′s Hospital Medical School

The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Methods in Health Research is a comprehensive and authoritative source on qualitative research methods. The Handbook compiles accessible yet vigorous academic contributions by respected academics from the fast-growing field of qualitative methods in health research and consists of: - A series of case studies in the ways in which qualitative methods have contributed to the development of thinking in fields relevant to policy and practice in health care. - A section examining the main theoretical sources drawn on by qualitative researchers. - A section on specific techniques for the collection of data. - A section exploring issues relevant to the strategic place of qualitative research in health care environments. The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Methods in Health Research is an invaluable source of reference for all students, researchers and practitioners with a background in the health professions or health sciences.

Sharp, bold and engaging, this book provides a contemporary account of why medical sociology matters in our modern society. Combining theoretical and empirical perspectives, and applying the pragmatic demands of policy, this timely book explores society′s response to key issues such as race, gender and identity to explain the relationship between sociology, medicine and medical sociology. Each chapter includes an authoritative introduction to pertinent areas of debate, a clear summary of key issues and themes and dedicated bibliography. Chapters include: • social theory and medical sociology • health inequalities • bodies, pain and suffering • personal, local and global. Brimming with fresh interpretations and critical insights this book will contribute to illuminating the practical realities of medical sociology. This exciting text will be of interest to students of sociology of health and illness, medical sociology, and sociology of the body. Hannah Bradby has a visiting fellowship at the Department of Primary Care and Health Sciences, King′s College London. She is monograph series editor for the journal Sociology of Health and Illness and co-edits the multi-disciplinary journal Ethnicity and Health.

The SAGE Handbook of Rhetorical Studies surveys the latest advances in rhetorical scholarship, synthesizing theories and practices across major areas of study in the field and pointing the way for future studies. Edited by Andrea A. Lunsford and Associate Editors Kirt H. Wilson and Rosa A. Eberly, the Handbook aims to introduce a new generation of students to rhetorical study and provide a deeply informed and ready resource for scholars currently working in the field.