Applied Sociology of Health and Illness: A Problem-Based Learning Approach

Praise for the First Edition:

"A real, combined approach of behavioural, social, biomedical, and clinical sciences is paramount. [This book] is one pioneering example of such integration, bridging core sociology with medical education."

– Dikomitis L, Wenning B, Ghobrial A, and Adams K.M. (2022). Embedding behavioural and social sciences across the medical curriculum: (Auto) ethnographic insights from medical schools in the United Kingdom. Societies, 12, 101.

"Constantinou’s book not only contributes to bridging the gap between theoretical sociology and medical education, it also contributes to the way we teach a new generation of students – how to understand patients in context, how to treat them with respect and, ultimately, how to be a better medical doctor."

– Andrea Stockl from her Foreword to the First Edition

Comments from Medical Students:

"‘Ignorance is not just lack of knowledge but lack of implementing knowledge gained’. I encourage everybody going into a clinical and general work setting to read this book and implement."

"I believe this book is the key to unlocking the minds of medical students in viewing illness as not only physical and emotional also as social experience."

"I believe everyone should read this book, especially medical students and practitioners who wish to become all-round competent and understanding doctors."

"The better you understand your patient’s illness and his/her suffering, the healthier you can make him/her – this book teaches this important skill."

This popular and accessible text continues to cover the basic principles of the sociology of health and illness in an eminently readable way. This fully revised second edition has been inspired, informed, and reviewed by medical students. By creatively employing a problem-based learning approach, the book examines commonly covered topics integrating underlying principles and research findings through real-life stories. The book investigates the relevance of sociology and considers a new direction – one that places sociology in the context of healthcare settings, making the topic more realistic, useful, and memorable.

The book will be an invaluable companion for medical students throughout undergraduate studies and is also a useful reference for students in nursing, social work, psychology, and sociology, as well as qualified doctors and healthcare practitioners.

Costas S. Constantinou is Professor of Medical Sociology at the University of Nicosia Medical School, Cyprus.